In The Trick of Time
by Marishaten
Summary: A jumbled time travel later, the Inu-gumi find themselves caught up in an Arthurian legend. Originally written in truncated form for Challenge Destiny's August 2012 contest.
1. Sirius

The Round Table,

England, 6th century A.D.

Sir Galahad was reading the reports from the Saxon kingdoms.

Gawain narrowed his brows. He glanced at the seat next to him. His second in command, Percivale, was without expression. Due to their long acquaintance, Gawain knew that it was because he was suppressing the feelings swirling inside of him. Sir Galahad continued in a grave voice.

"At present our troops have reclaimed both banks of the Aln River, and it is calculated that they will gradually invade the rest of Northumbria. It is probably safe to assume that the troops of King Caw will be mostly destroyed."

Lancelot du Lac nodded gravely. Sir Bors, looking at the documents, raised his eyebrows.

"It seems that most of the Northern Saxon kingdoms have been annexed under the king's banner, thanks to the efforts of Sir Lancelot and Sir Gawain. Not only have they proved exceptional in battles but they have also kept high the morale of our troops with their inspiring presence."

Sir Galahad and the others nodded in approval.

"That was our duty. It was only to be expected."

Sir Lancelot said dryly.

It was the King who replied.

"Duty it might be for you, Sir Lacelot, yet in my kingdom, loyalty and valour fetches rewards beyond all other virtues. You are awarded lordship over the Dolorous Guard!"

A great cheer erupted at this declaration.

From a corner of the room a moth rose upward, only to be devoured by a tongue of fire from a nearby lamp. Smoke curled up lightly, along with an unpleasant noise. Then its lifeless, charred body spiralled down to the stone floor. A pair of eyes looked at it dispassionately.

_How depressing…_

The longer Mordred sat in his chair, the more he hated the hypocrites inside the room. His obsidian eyes, bottomless like two empty voids, shone with the fire from the burning torches. But no one present in the room that night knew of the dark, festering wound in his heart.

'The devil's spawn' he had been named, hated and feared by all – all because a 'noble king of great virtue' had succumbed to the temptations of the flesh.

Now, he would love to see his Sire ruined, unmanned, reduced to a helpless pulp that he could crush between two fingers – the way his father had tried to snuff out his life when he was but a waif. But he had no hurry. He would wait for the perfect moment in time when a window would open, and like an adder he would pour his venom…

Morgan le Fay's Castle

A woman was climbing up the stairs to the topmost tower, her black cloak trailing behind her like the pinion of a crow. Panting heavily, she knocked at a wooden door. A moment later, it was answered by the mistress of the tower.

"Morgause! What brings you here at this hour?"

"It's Mordred…I…I spoke to him last night…" Morgause stammered, gasping for breath. She threw a fearful glance around her. "I…he…I've seen it in his eyes, Morgan…I've se-seen death in his eyes! He means to murder his Sire, I just know it in my heart, I do! Please, we _have_ to stop him!"

Morgan le Fay drew her brows together with a serious expression.

"Oh, calm down, Morgause. I'm sure you are imagining things."

"No! How can you tell me to be calm when you know of the _danger_…" Morgause brought her voice down to a whisper, "You know what Merlin predicted."

"Wizards have been wrong before."

"Morgan, he's your _nephew_!" Morgause joined her hands in supplication, "Stop his soul from being condemned for all eternity. Patricide is the sin of sins."

For a while, Morgan le Fay was lost in contemplation. When she looked up, her beautiful eyes were sad as an autumn twilight.

"Your child, Mordred, will fulfil his own destiny. I cannot prevent that. The game pieces have started to move already. All I can do is to forestall it, so you can have more time to pray…or to counsel."

Morgause looked at something far away.

"Time…yes, time can move mountains. It's a powerful thing, time…"

Bowing her head, she retraced her steps out of the castle. Her dark shadow blended with the darkness of the night.

* * *

Higurashi Residence

Japan, 1997 A.D.

Kagome Higurashi was already late for her trip to feudal Japan.

'_Oh, Inuyasha is going to kill me,'_ she thought as she worriedly looked at the sky. Forcing her over-packed bag to close, she heaved it over her already hurting shoulders. Mama came in with a bentou box.

"Here, I packed dinner for your friends. Give the porridge to Inuyasha-kun – he does not like spicy food. And give the toffees to Shippou."

"Thanks Mama, you are the best!"

Kagome gave her mother a quick hug and then ran towards the ancient well. She made her familiar jump, and immediately blue sparkles wrapped around her. By now she had become used to the sensation of time travel.

She was hurtling through somewhere in time, when out of nowhere something large and red collided with her, knocking out her breath. A moment later, she landed on her feet and toppled backwards, clutching at the vines for support. She looked up worriedly to check if her route had been compromised, but was relieved to see the familiar sky above her.

As she lowered her glance, however, she was shocked to see a man dressed in a scarlet robe sitting across from her.

The man peered into her face quizzically, and then blinked once.

"Say, you're no Helen of Troy!"

Kagome bristled in anger.

"Hey buddy, no need to get personal."

"I didn't. I was sent to get Helen of Troy."

"You were _what_? Who _are_ you?"

"I'm Sirius," the man replied.

"Does it look like I'm joking?"

"My _name_ is Sirius," the man clarified, "like the Dog Star?"

Kagome could only look back at him in wonder.


	2. The Magic Portal

"Sirius…"

Kagome ran the name over her tongue, exploring it cautiously, while all the time shaking her head in bewilderment.

"The dog star."

The man across her reminded helpfully.

_Was there something familiar about his voice?_

Suddenly, Kagome was jolted out of her reverie.

_Where are my manners?_

"I'm Kagome," she said, extending her right hand.

She had expected Sirius to shake it but to her surprise he touched it lightly with his lips.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Kagome."

_There goes that voice again._

There was something about it that made Kagome's heart skip a beat. An oddly reminiscent quality…and those chiselled features…amber eyes and blond hair…but she couldn't quite put a finger on it.

After a few moments, she forced herself to tear her eyes away from his face.

Opposite to her, Sirius had already caught hold of a sturdy vine.

"I suggest we get out of the well now."

"Right."

Kagome got up and brushed the dust off her skirt.

"What's taking you so long, wench?"

A familiar gruff voice was approaching the well. Ten clawed fingers became visible on the rim of it, followed by a mass of snowy hair and a scowling face.

"Have you set up a household-"

Suddenly his eyes fell upon the other occupant of the well. Inuyasha blinked down. Sirius blinked up.

"Who the hell are you?" the hanyou asked.

"I could ask you the same question," Sirius replied.

Long experience with Kouga had taught Kagome the precise moment to stage an intervention. She looked up at the hanyou and shouted.

"Inuyasha, come down and lend me a hand with my bag. Dinner is getting all squished and so is the ramen."

Inuyasha gulped; dinner _and_ ramen? Kagome was rarely in such a generous mood. Heck, if he was careful she could even let him have a whole packet of the potato fries…he struggled to fight off a drool – he didn't want to look greedy in front of the stranger. That would be so uncool. Jumping down the well, he casually took the bag under one arm and Kagome under the other, and jumped out of it. Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"Half-demon," Kagome explained.

"I see," he replied matter-of-factly before gracefully climbing out of the well himself.

"It is clear to me that this is not ancient Greece. Pray, tell me what country and era is this?"

"This is Japan, circa 1497 A.D." Kagome replied.

"Merlin's beard!" Sirius exclaimed, "I was travelling thirteen hundred years in the past! I don't know why I arrived eight hundred years into the future!"

Kagome could only hazard a guess.

"Maybe because I was travelling into the past at the same time and somewhere our paths collided."

Sirius scratched his cheek with a thoughtful expression.

"Two time travellers at the same time, eh? I have never heard of such an occurrence, but it could be possible, I suppose."

Inuyasha cleared his throat.

"So that's that and problem solved. Blondie will go back to his own time now and let us shard hunt in peace."

"Kagome-sama!"

"Kagome-chan!"

"Kagome!"

The miniatures of three very familiar figures were fast approaching the trio. Kagome waved at them enthusiastically.

"Miroku-sama, Sango-chan, Shippou-chan!"

"What took you so long?"

"We were getting worried for you."

The miniatures steadily grew in size, finally attaining life-size proportions. They looked at Sirius in wonder.

"Who's the stranger, Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked.

"Unimportant," Inuyasha intervened, "time travel gone wrong…erm, he's going back now."

Sirius was looking at the group carefully – from katana to monk's staff and from boomerang to bow and arrow. He was doing some quick mental calculations.

"Are you the knights of this kingdom?"

"I'd like to believe that we are the morning suns, my dear fellow," a visibly affronted Miroku replied.

"He's asking if we are the warriors of this land, Miroku-sama," Kagome clarified.

"You seem to know an awful lot about him," Inuyasha looked at her suspiciously, "What exactly happened inside the well? How long were you in there anyway?"

"Inuyasha, must you always make me so mad? Sit!"

The group made way for Inuyasha to drop unceremoniously to the ground.

Sirius paid no attention to the melee.

"Can you help me fight someone? Should you succeed, the rewards shall be great."

"And how are we supposed to do that, poop head? Send nasty thoughts from here?" Inuyasha sneered from the ground.

Sirius fumbled in his robe and fished out a stone looking strikingly similar to a polluted shikon jewel.

"This is the Dark Crystal," he said, "touch it but with your fingertips and all of you shall be transported to my time, my country - to Camelot. Do you dare to venture?"

A silence fell at his words. The group stared at each other.

"Look here guys," Inuyasha said irritably, "we have a task at hand. We can't go after every riff raff that comes across our way."

"What Inuyasha is saying is correct, but…"

Miroku longingly looked at the stone. A new country, a new vista, new adventures…

"Naraku has vanished without a trace. For the past one month we are going around in circles. If we can spare a few days…"

Sango took a hesitant step towards the stone.

"It could be dangerous, houshi-sama."

Shippou was the first to bound forward.

"Inuyasha and Kagome are always travelling through time," he said, "I want to do it, too!"

Miroku followed suit.

"If Shippou dares to venture, so can I."

Sango took a few resolute steps and touched the cool, polished surface of the stone.

"I'll come as well, Sirius."

Kagome ran after them.

"Count me in guys!"

They all looked expectantly at Inuyasha. The hanyou frowned.

"This better not be some evil trick, blondie, or else there'll be hell to pay."

Sirius looked at Inuyasha, his amber eyes shining with earnest conviction.

"Believe in me, Sir Inuyasha. I am a warrior like you are. There is no deceit in my words."

Inuyasha still continued to glare at Sirius; Sirius, without the slightest flinch, took in Inuyasha's gaze. For a while, there was a leaden silence.

Then Inuyasha let his breath out.

"So be it."

The next moment, all six of them were hurtling through time.


	3. The Dark Tower

"Uff!"

"Ouch!"

"Crap!"

"Miroku, get off me!"

With a tremendous jerk the Inu-gumi (and Sirius) had fallen face downward upon a cold, hard floor.

Head still spinning from the time travel, Kagome looked around as she gingerly rubbed her bruised knees and elbows.

It appeared that they had landed on the roof of a tall tower. There was no ceiling above them, only the night sky studded with a million stars, glittering as diamonds set in a robe of the deepest blue. Far below them, the ground was dotted with trees. Guards were patrolling the premises in a regular rhythm.

Beyond the heavy iron gates and as far as the eyes went, half-hidden by the cover of the night and half-revealed by a row of torches, stretched a city with numerous towers. A shiver of pleasurable excitement surged through Kagome. _Could it be…_

"I can't _believe_ my eyes!" Kagome could scarce suppress her excitement. "Are we really in Camelot? Really-truly?"

Sirius nodded in assent, as he surveyed the surroundings.

"Where does King Arthur live? And where is Queen Guinevere?"

Inuyasha frowned at her.

"Again you've started spouting nonsense?"

Kagome opened her mouth to give a sharp retort but Sirius motioned her to be quiet. His eyes were suddenly alert.

Following his glance, Kagome noticed that storm had begun to build in the horizon. A giant cloud obscured the sky, hanging over the city like the shadow of a curse. The stars went out one by one. Sango drew in breath sharply. Shippou shivered.

Miroku frowned.

"The sky was clear a minute ago…Kagome-sama, do you think this is normal?"

Kagome's voice shook slightly as she replied.

"You mean there is a power at work here?"

Miroku only shook his head in bewilderment. One by one the banners at the top of the towers began to billow and sway like the sails of giant ships. A cloud of dust pushed its way through the heart of the city. Before they could react, the storm was upon them in its full fury.

The gales slapped their faces like splashes of ice-cold water, freezing them to the core. And then…amid the roar of the wind and the peals of thunder, came the sound of a distinct howl. Kagome looked at Inuyasha.

"The wolves in the forest are restless," the hanyou replied, his hackles up.

Sirius nodded: "There are fell creatures about this place – beasts whose names we do not utter. They answer to but one person."

"Morgan le Fay?" Kagome took a guess.

Sirius shook his head: "Lady Morgan is a philosopher. She dabbles not in dark magic. No, I speak of the Black Lady in the tower. It is she who controls the beasts. Look!"

He pointed to the east, where a single light shone in the casement of a high tower. A moment later, the outline of a woman appeared. Her hair was untied, blowing wildly in the wind, but her face was obscured in the dark.

As if answering to a secret gesture, an ear-rending scream echoed through the storm-ravaged sky. A host of bird-like creatures flew out of the solitary casement and dispersed in the dark. Sirius clucked his tongue.

"This wasn't their night for hunting. Hurry, it is not safe to remain out-of-doors!"

"Then why the hell did you land on the roof?" Inuyasha angrily demanded to know.

"I-I am scared!" Shippou said, "What do these beasts feed on?"

"Blood," Sirius replied as the howling renewed, "of animals from the forest, but I doubt they will stop at killing humans. Come, follow me!"

Kagome noticed that Inuyasha had pushed her in front of him, so he could watch her back. His eyes were sharp and glowing.

'_He can feel the danger,'_ she thought, as her heart began to race, _'Curse my stupidity for agreeing to come along on this trip without knowing anything about – well, anything.'_ Her mind watched out for danger, as her feet hurried down a flight of spiral stairs. Sirius evidently knew the way, as he never faltered once, even though the torches were few and far between, casting a bizarre half-shadow on the walls. Kagome squinted in the dark, but could hardly see where she was stepping.

Focussed as her attention was upon her feet, she had scarcely noticed when Sirius had stopped in front of her. She almost collided with him, checking herself at the last moment.

"What the-" Inuyasha cursed a second later as he almost rammed into her.

Sirius noiselessly pointed at the arched window.

One of the predatory birds was perched upon the windowsill. It was large as an eagle and black as the night, with huge, leathery wings folded along its side. Its eyes were red, pus oozing out of them.

As it opened its mouth, a terrible cry echoed in the stairway. Its mouth revealed two glistening fangs, their tips stained with blood.

Sirius drew out his sword, as did Inuyasha. In the torchlight, blond and silver flashed alike; the flames danced mischievously on scarlet robe and fire rat haori. For a moment, Kagome had the impression that she was seeing double.

The creature unfurled its wings and swooped down, fangs bared. Inuyasha positioned himself in front of Kagome as he chorused with Sirius.

"I'll take care of it!"

With a cry, Sirius charged ahead. The bird ducked, aiming for his throat. Dodging the attack, he spun around, struggling to maintain his balance. The bird skidded to a halt against the wall and then dove back at him. Sirius was prepared this time. With one stroke of his sword, he beheaded the creature.


	4. Perseus

Everybody…well, everybody with the exception of Sirius and Inuyasha, was shaken after the incident with the bird.

In the shivering light from the torches, the castle looked eerie and strangely deserted; every gust of wind that blew in from the casements felt like the batting of two giant wings.

Kagome was not sure how many flights they had descended – the stairs seemed to wind endlessly. Finally Sirius stopped at a landing.

"That way!"

He pointed towards a dark corridor and bounded down the rest of the stairs. Kagome meant to follow him but Inuyasha pulled the sleeve of her shirt.

"Are you completely loco? Going after him like that…how do you know we can trust him?"

"Have _you_ gone insane?" Kagome shouted, "Didn't you see how he saved our lives?"

Inuyasha shrugged.

"It was because of _him_ that our lives were in danger in the first place. Besides, what if that was just an act to gain our trust?"

"So, suddenly Mr. Charge-Ahead-Katana-Blazing decides to err on the side of caution?" Kagome said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Don't put this on me! _You_ couldn't wait to throw yourself at the weirdo from the moment you discovered him inside the well," Inuyasha replied with equal malice.

"That was _so_ uncalled for," Kagome's voice lowered to dangerous decibels.

"We have no choice but to trust Sirius," Miroku said soothingly. "We don't know how to go back to our land. We're stuck here and without his Dark Crystal we'll be lost in this era forever. The longer we tarry here the more it will be dangerous for Kikyou-sama, who is alone without protection."

He judiciously dropped the K-bomb, mentally giving himself a pat on the back for it.

"Not to mention that if he tries something stupid, we can easily beat him into a pulp," Sango added.

But Inuyasha continued to sulk.

"I smell blood up ahead. And I wonder why Sirius dragged us to this weird castle in the first place – he seems to be doing quite well by himself."

"Oh come on," Kagome said irritably, "Don't be such a baby."

Inuyasha only replied with a "Keh" but he grabbed her hand possessively while running down the steps, "So you don't go bumping into that weirdo again," he claimed.

At the end of the stairs they found themselves in the aforementioned corridor. A patch of flickering yellow light slanted out of the only door that was open at one end of it. The rest of the hallway was wrapped in faint darkness. The floor was bare and paved with stone, and it seemed that the dark walls were lined with rows of shields and spears.

"We shall go inside that room," Inuyasha declared self-importantly, although it was the obvious thing to do under circumstances.

As the party broke into a run, something solid emerged from the dark and collided with Inuyasha.

"Uff!"

"Ouch!"

"Sirius?" Kagome exclaimed, as the man stood rubbing his head.

"What took you guys so long?" he winced in pain, "And you, Sir, have an abnormally hard forehead." He looked accusingly at Inuyasha.

"And you have an eggshell for a skull, weirdo!" the latter shot back, amber eyes blazing in the dark.

A tall, bearded man emerged from the room with the open door and peered into the darkness.

"Who is making that terrible ruckus?" he demanded in a booming voice.

"Just I and a few friends, Perseus," Sirius said apologetically, as he quickly ushered the party into a candle-lit room.

Kagome was mildly surprised to find herself inside a fairly large kitchen. At one corner of it a cock sat half-skinned inside a large basin – which, no doubt, had given off the smell of blood that Inuyasha spoke about at the landing.

A cat was dining on a bowl of fish at the opposite corner. On seeing the party, he rose, tipped his hat, clicked his boots and jumped out of the window.

Now that there was light, Kagome looked carefully at the man called Perseus. He was taller than Sirius and stouter, with striking blue eyes and matted brown beard that fell to his chest. His head was bald in the middle, giving him a stern, malevolent appearance. His hands were gnarled and somewhat scarred. From his appearance he looked like a warrior of formidable strength.

Sirius made the introductions.

"This is Perseus, the chief cook of the royal kitchen. These are my friends from the Orient."

"From the Holy Land?" Perseus asked.

"No, more east than that," Kagome quipped.

"Oh, from the heathen lands, I see," he eyed the group malevolently.

"They have come to stop Mordred from slaying the King," Sirius added hastily, before Perseus could say something offensive.

Perseus grunted.

"Much good will _that_ do. Your King is a thief-"

Sirius clamped his hand upon the cook's mouth. "Easy, tiger, would you have us all beheaded before the dawn?"

"One of you better start talking while you still have the use of your heads, or else they'll soon be rolling on the floor."

Inuyasha spoke in his most impressive voice, determined to outclass Sirius and Perseus together. The latter looked at each other in silence.


	5. Changing History

A chill draught floated in through the large window of the kitchen. Down below, in the forest, the tops of the trees were swaying softly, as though waving their hands to a silent orchestra. The moon was half-hidden behind a strand of silken cloud, casting ominous half-shadows on the stone walls of the castle.

Beside a sputtering candle, Sirius and Perseus stood shoulder to shoulder, like twin statues in a Roman temple.

Miroku broke the silence.

"I agree with Inuyasha," the monk said in a gentle but solemn voice, "We've followed you into this strange country on your request, but you've left us in the dark all along."

Sango stirred: "Who's Mordred and what is he planning to do? And who is the Black Lady?"

"And what's our role in this mess?" Inuyasha demanded angrily.

Sirius slowly looked at Perseus. "Would you like to do the honours?"

Peseus nodded.

"The King is a thief, aye, and more!" he boomed, "That vile thing forced himself upon his own half-sister, Lady Morgause. That was how Mordred was conceived, though the King has forever denied him his true inheritance."

"By Buddha, his own half-sister!" Miroku cried out in shock.

Kagome, however, looked quiet complacent – she was already aware of the theory.

"Evil deeds have long shadows," Perseus spoke angrily, "As Mordred was begotten out of sin, he brought a terrible curse upon his own sire. A May-born lad would destroy the King and the Kingdom – or so Merlin said. The King stole all May-born babes from the houses of the nobles, put them in an old ship, and then sent them away in the sea." Perseus paused to take a quaff of ale. The group took this break as a chance to look at each other warily.

"A dreadful storm engulfed the ship, and all the lads were killed except for one who returned to the kingdom unharmed."

"Mordred," Inuyasha said in a flat tone.

"The very same," Perseus wagged a warning finger, "He has returned as a vessel for God's revenge and you're better off not trying to stop him."

"But aren't there good, loyal men who can protect their King?" Miroku inquired.

"There are, the very best!" Perseus replied, surprised at the monk's ignorance.

"The knights of the Round Table," Kagome said.

Perseus looked at her appreciatively. "Ah, so you do know about the Round Table?"

"King Arthur and his knights – samurai – sit around a round table, so there is no leader of the group. There are samurai called Gawain and Lancelot and Percivale and many more – the bravest and most faithful of the King." Kagome explained to her group.

"Aye," said Perseus, "And no harm can come to the King or the kingdom so long as their spears strike true."

"But the Round Table shall soon be broken," Kagome cried, "Mordred will expose the affair between Queen Guinevere and Sir Lancelot. That would cause Sir Lancelot to be declared a traitor!"

Sirius was looking at Kagome as though he was struck a bolt of lightning. "H-how do you know about the Queen-"

"I thought it was obvious," opined Perseus, "She is an oriental sorceress, able to see into the future."

Sirius knitted his brow. "This changes everything. Your coming has been a blessing for us, Milady." He looked directly at Kagome, "Time is irreversible, but is it unchangeable? Whatever is happening around us, all the events and phenomena, they are converging towards a single point – to bring certain people to a certain place at a certain time of a certain day. Now suppose we can alter that one particular moment – point zero, so to speak? Suppose Her Majesty and Lancelot do not meet that particular day? Or if they do, then Mordred fails to show up? He cannot cry foul, Sir Lancelot stays beside the King and the Round Table is never broken. We have the chance to alter history!"

"We can't tamper with history – the consequences can be dangerous," Inuyasha shook his head decisively.

"But what if we're meant to?" Kagome asked, "Even I went back in time and broke your sealing arrow. If I hadn't tampered with history, for all we know you might still be stuck in a state of suspended animation."

"So," Inuyasha remarked, "You're choosing _his _side over mine?"


	6. Jumbled Tales

Sirius and Perseus looked at Inuyasha in surprise even as the rest of the group looked tactfully away.

Kagome looked at Inuyasha as though she was stung.

_Why was he making her out to be the bad person?_

Come to think of it, Inuyasha had been acting strange ever since they had started on the trip.

_Could it be that he's worried about Kikyou? Is he holding me responsible for leaving her in danger?_

They had all agreed to help Sirius didn't they? Why single her out?

"Come now, Inuyasha," Miroku came forward, "I'm sure all of us are on the same side here."

"I, for one, am at a loss," Inuyasha snarled at Sirius, "If this Arthur person is as bad as you're making him out to be, why bother saving him at all?"

Sirius sighed.

"The King is no saint; I'll be the first to admit. But he is the only one who can command the Round Table – who can unite Britain, and rid this territory of the vile Saxons. Under his rule, this country has acquired Ireland, Iceland and the Orkney Islands. Norway and Gaul are all but annexed. He even plans to march against Tiberius, who is sitting upon the throne of Rome as we speak. A monarch has seldom brought such power, such glory to our people. When the borders are secure, trade will flourish; when the people are at peace, the economy will prosper. See you not, that the King is greater, much greater than his vices? Aye, Britain will have much to lose by losing her King."

Sirius looked earnestly at Inuyasha, who became silent but still wore a frown on his face.

"And just who is the Black Lady?" Sango asked Sirius.

A dark shadow marred the latter's handsome face. "She is a sorceress. Lives at the edge of the forest, by the river. Forbidden Tower, the place is called – the one I showed you earlier from the roof. No man that has entered the Tower has come out of it alive."

"Not just men, Sirius!" protested Perseus, "There were child murders – of the most heinous sort. It all started with little Johannes and Margaret. Stepmother used to make them work on the fields all day. Didn't come home one day. Whole neighbourhood was out searching for them. Under the copper beeches they were found, two days later. Strangled, they'd been. It makes me shiver still to think of it. And then there were others. Not for a month or two sometimes. And then there'd be another one. Sometimes they found the children at once and sometimes they wouldn't find them for weeks, sometimes not at all. Just half-rotten corpses, bloody clothes, bones – that sort."

A cloud was passing over the moon. Kagome shivered.

"It is said that the Black Lady is the one controlling Mordred," Sirius resumed in a grave tone of voice, "Power is what she desires, limitless power. Her birds feed on the creatures of the forest, but they dare not hunt the humans – at least not on a large scale – while the knights are on guard. That's why she wants to take over the kingdom and make it a feasting ground for the beasts. Legend has it, that the day those birds feed upon a thousand souls, she will sacrifice them and drink their blood in order to become immortal."

"Why does she murder the children? As offerings to the birds?" Kagome asked.

Sirius could only shrug.

"What religion do the people follow here?" Miroku asked Kagome in sotto voce.

"This is the sixth century, so Christianity has probably been introduced to England, but the people by and large still follow their pagan rituals," Kagome replied.

"Ugh! Arthur, Mordred, the unfaithful queen and the adulterous knight, murdered children, children sent on a ship, the Dark Lady and her demon birds – it's all mixed up in the most glorious kind of hasty pudding!" Inuyasha complained, clutching his head.

Sirius gave a low chuckle. Kagome drew her breath sharply – the care-worn face had in a moment transformed into a youthful, handsome one. Inuyasha followed her glance, his scowl deepening.

"I'm afraid Perseus and I have imparted too much information at once. Pray, do not tax your brains." Sirius paused for breath. "Mordred journeys forth to Rome in three days. Once there, he will have his hands full, for Tiberius is a mighty foe. Nobody knows if he will even return to Camelot. The danger, therefore, lies in these intervening days. If somehow we can keep Mordred from exposing Her Majesty…will you lend me your support?"

Sirius looked directly at Inuyasha. Molten gold met dark amber, an unspoken message passing silently between the two.

Inuyasha nodded his head in the affirmative.


	7. Puss in Boots

Miroku shuffled his feet under his robe.

"Umm, as you can see I'm a poor monk and correct me if I am wrong but I thought there were rewards involved…"

Sango rolled her eyes: "Must you be so crude Miroku?"

"His mind works only on one track," Shippou piped in.

"Two, actually," Inuyasha commented dryly.

Sirius nodded his head.

"Indeed. Lady Morgan has offered five hundred gold coins to whoever can protect the King. In case our gold does not have any value in your land, she can offer charms and special protections."

Inuyasha looked up, suddenly interested.

"Charms? What kind? D-do they really work?" he breathed, "Can we take one for later?"

Kagome knitted her brows.

_He must be thinking about Kikyou! We are out here risking our lives and all he can think about is buying wards and amulets for her…_

A moment later, she chided herself for her jealousy. She had been witness to Inuyasha's pain at Mt. Hakurei, when they thought Kikyou had been murdered. She knew that Kikyou was suffering alone while she, Kagome, got to be with Inuyasha everyday. The least she could do was not to begrudge her a few magical protections.

Miroku's eyes had gone quite wide in panic.

"Don't worry about charms, Sirius. Gold has tremendous value everywhere. We'll collect our payment in gold coins."

"Well, you can bargain the exact mode of payment with Lady Morgan," replied Sirius, "In any case, it is time you paid her a visit."

A polite cough sounded at the doorway. Everybody looked around. It was the cat from earlier – the one that had jumped out of the window. He was wearing a hat and shod in leather boots; in his hand he carried a small dagger.

"Welcome, Puss," said Sirius.

"Oh my God! Puss in boots?" Kagome squealed in delight.

The cat regarded her coldly. "I beg your pardon?"

"Puss has a long and rather complicated name in his own language," Sirius explained, "He was originally my father's minion but now he is devoted to my service."

"And ever faithful to my Lord," Puss bowed rather dramatically.

"I daresay," laughed Sirius, "but don't count on him in times of trouble. A coward such as him is rarely seen."

Kagome shivered as she looked into the amber eyes of the speaker. _It was almost as if…but it couldn't be, no. _She shook her head firmly. _No, it couldn't be._

"Puss will guide you to Lady Morgan's Tower while I take care of a few things. With your permission, Milady," Sirius bowed gallantly before he touched Kagome's hand to his lips, to the growing annoyance of Inuyasha. Then he whirled around and swept out of the room in a dignified manner.

Perseus uttered a low grunt by way of farewell, and blowing out the lone candle, marched out of the room.

Puss beckoned to the group, "Shall we proceed?"

In a single file the group followed the cat down a flight of stairs and out through a back door. The sights and sounds of the foreign land felt strange and eerie to the visitors. Even the sky looked a little different. After studying it for some time Kagome realized why. The constellations above were not quite the same as in Tokyo, and even the familiar ones had changed their positions.

Keeping their ears alert for any sign of danger, they silently made their way out of the castle premises and into a rather dark forest lit by moss and fireflies.

"W-won't those awful birds attack us here?" Shippou asked as he cast a fearful glance around him from his perch upon Miroku's shoulder.

Puss shook his head. "This is the EnchantedForest, protected by the barrier of the Lady of the Lake. Those foul creatures cannot enter here."

"Who is the Lady of the Lake?" Kagome asked, "Is she Lady Morgan?"

Puss only shook his head in the negative without offering any more explanations.

Cutting through the undergrowth, the party made its way forward. The clouds had parted, revealing a yellow moon; the stars had come out in the sky. The scent of strange orchids was wafting in the cold air. Beyond the thickets loomed the outline of an enormous mansion – dark and deserted as a haunted house. Kagome pointed towards it.

"What is that?" she asked.

"That's the mansion of Briar Rose," Puss explained, "Or Zellandine as she was known in her days."

"Oh, you mean, Sleeping Beauty?" Kagome exclaimed happily. It was her most favourite fairy tale as a child. She was surprised to learn that the mansion had existed in reality.

"Yeah, I suppose you could call her that," Puss replied dubiously. "Was a sprightly place, that one, before a witch cursed her with enchanted sleep. That was fifty years ago and she has never woken since. The Lord and his wife passed away and the mansion fell into disuse. They say her body is still inside, still preserved as though she were merely sleeping."

"If the poor girl is in such a state-" began Miroku.

"Don't even think about it," Sango warned in a dangerous voice.

"Women are so ruthless," sighed the monk.

The road went straight ahead for a distance and then came to an almost vertical dip. The air suddenly became warm and salty – laden with the unmistakable scent of the sea. Fifty feet below, the water rolled – dark and ominous as the bellowing of a primitive beast. The waves foamed and gnashed against the treacherous rocks jutting out of the shoreline.

"Welcome to CapeFear," Puss purred in a satisfied voice, as he scanned the awed faces of the travellers.


	8. Over the Bridge

Upon a high rock in the middle of the sea, surrounded by tall dark waves, rose the sheer walls of a lofty tower.

"That is the Tower of Lady Morgan," Puss said in a hushed voice, as he pointed towards the island castle.

"_Very funny_. How the hell do you suppose we get there? Grow a pair of fins?" growled Inuyasha.

It seemed that in the last hour his already crabby mood seemed to have worsened.

"What's gotten into him today?" Shippou wondered aloud.

_It's obvious,_ Kagome thought as she threw a glance at Puss,_ after all, dogs and cats are sworn enemies._

Sango clucked her tongue in annoyance.

"Must you be so tiresome all the time, Inuyasha?"

"I asked a valid question. Look at those fucking waves and tell me how you plan to get to the tower."

"Watch and learn," said Puss, a tad pompously, as he pointed his dagger, apparently towards a star in the sky.

Inuyasha was about to say something offensive when Miroku gave a low gasp. Following his glance, Kagome looked up at the sky.

The star that was twinkling a moment ago seemed to disappear, although there wasn't a trace of cloud in the sky.

She blinked and another seemed to disappear. Then another. And another.

_What was going on?_

Shippou grabbed her arm and pointed towards the sea.

A bridge was floating over the inky water, starting about ten feet below them and extending to the lonely isle – an insubstantial, incorporeal bridge made of nothing but gleaming starlight! It was insanity, an utter impossibility, and yet it was right there in front of her eyes!

Sango clutched her arm. Her eyes were as big as saucers. Her mouth was slightly open.

"Kagome-chan, how did this…" the taijiya shook her head in disbelief.

Kagome shifted her focus from the bridge to the raging water below.

_If Puss thinks we're going to cross that bridge he's insane,_ she thought. She felt that the 'bridge' might disappear any second.

"We can't cross over that _thing_," Inuyasha declared firmly.

"That's the only way," Puss asserted.

"What if we fall off?" Miroku asked dubiously.

"Oh that bridge can stand the weight of an entire army. Follow me, if you please."

The cat jumped nimbly on to the bridge and swaggered confidently towards the tower.

"What should we do, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked fearfully.

"Keh! If a _cat_ can cross that thing I won't let the dogs' reputation be put to shame."

Inuyasha backed a step and then broke into a short run, leaping gracefully upon the 'stars'. It was Kagome's turn now.

Taking a calming breath, she ran to the edge of the cliff; the waves were directly beneath her now, the rocks jutting out from the water like a million death-traps. The inky darkness threatened to engulf everything.

Kagome closed her eyes, and balling her hands into tiny fists, she let her body fly through emptiness. Cold air whooshed past her ears as the sound of the sea came nearer and nearer. She was sure she had missed the 'bridge' and was aiming straight for the rocks. Cringing inwardly, she braced for the impact-

Which never came. Instead, she made contact with something soft and warm. She almost cried in relief as she snuggled against the fire rat robe of her beloved hanyou.

"You okay, Kagome?" he peered anxiously into her face.

Kagome nodded, still shaking from the excitement. Inuyasha gently put her down among the stars. Kagome felt that his hands lingered on her waist a moment longer than necessary. The next moment she felt that she must have imagined it. His face was quite impassive as he let go of her.

The 'bridge' felt soft and spongy, like the feel of an expensive carpet, and radiated a warm light. Kagome loved the way her feet sank into it, the soft glow instantly healing her achy sole. Behind her, Inuyasha was helping Miroku and Sango make the jump. Kagome steadied herself and started walking across the starlight, trying her best to ignore the roaring water below.

Up ahead, Puss was knocking at specific areas of a massive wooden door. With the last tap, a strange contraption was activated and the door swung forward like the gaping mouth of a gigantic monster.

"This way, please," the cat disappeared up a spiral stairway.

"I'm getting sick of these stairs," Inuyasha complained, "why can't people live in nice, open houses like they do back home?"

Kagome couldn't help smiling as she noticed Inuyasha mentioning the village as 'home'. Shunned by all since the moment of his birth, the outcaste and pariah had finally found a sense of belonging – not with his beloved miko, but with her reincarnated soul, and their mutual friends.

She wondered what Kikyou would say about it.

After climbing for what seemed like an hour, Puss stopped in front of a heavy wooden door. He knocked exactly thrice on the door.

There was a scuffling sound behind the door and a while later it was opened by a woman.


	9. Morgan le Fay

The woman had long, dark hair that fell somewhat untidily over a tired but kindly face. She peered inquisitively into the faces of the strangers. Puss bowed respectfully.

"We are here to see Lady Morgan," he explained.

"Oh," the woman said, "she's consulting with Merlin at the moment. Why don't you come inside?"

Puss nodded his head and went in. Inuyasha-tachi followed him. The inside of the room was designed like an ancient laboratory. There was a cauldron in the middle of it and a fire crackled in the hearth. Glass tubes of various shapes and sizes were arranged upon wooden shelves fitted into the walls and there were books lying open on a wide table, with strange symbols drawn upon them. There were also several cupboards around the room, all locked up.

The woman picked up several scrolls from a bench and carried them to the table, where she dropped them unceremoniously. Then she turned around cheerfully and motioned the party to sit upon the newly-cleared bench.

"Would you care for some bread or meat?" she asked, "I'm sure there's some in the larder."

"No thank you, not today," Kagome replied on behalf of the group – and received frowning stares from Inuyasha and Shippou.

"A quaff of ale, perhaps? It's not poisoned today," she added with a wink.

Again Kagome politely declined, oblivious to Miroku's vehement hand-gesturing.

"I'm Morgause, by the way," said the woman.

"Mordred's mother?" Kagome blurted out before she could stop herself.

A shadow passed the woman's pleasant face.

"Aye, Mordred's mother alright," she said wistfully, "and such a bonny lad was never born – with eyes as blue as the sea and hair as fair as the sun. But the curse tore him away…"

"It must have been terrible when the King took the children away," Sango said softly.

"The King?" Morgause looked at her quizzically.

Sango looked perplexed as well.

"Didn't the King put all May-born boys inside a ship and set them adrift in the sea?"

"Oh, _that_," Morgause looked out of the window, "I wonder – but no, it's quite alright, I suppose."

The Inuyasha-tachi looked at each other, mystified.

"She's a bit confused," Puss whispered, "Doesn't properly remember things," he tapped his forehead significantly. "Why don't you make yourselves comfortable?"

The Inuyasha ikkou took their seats.

The night drew on and yet there was no sign of Morgan.

Puss curled up in a corner of the room and went to sleep. Miroku also started dozing on the bench. Shippou's soft snores were coming from where the kitsune lay in his lap. Sango's head was already lolling from side to side. Kagome thought she heard her say 'Kirara' a few times. She wondered if her taijiya friend was missing her pet nekomata. Inuyasha kept up his vigil, eyes wide open and hand gripping the hilt of Tessaiga. Morgause didn't show any sign of sleep either, although she kept her eyes focused on the window, facing away from the group.

Kagome yawned in boredom. She was getting tired of the wait, so she decided to stretch her legs a bit. She looked at the shelves but could not find anything of interest there. She tried to read a book but the symbols were only faintly familiar, and she could make neither head nor tail of them. The cauldron drew her attention. She took a couple of steps towards it and leaned over the edge, peering into the blue liquid that was slowly seething inside it.

Quick as a flash, Morgause whipped around. She was looking at Kagome with a troubled expression.

"You, girl, were you looking inside the cauldron?" she asked breathlessly.

Kagome was startled. She straightened and took a step away from the article.

"I-I'm sorry," she mumbled an apology.

"So, was it _your_ child?" Morgause whispered.

_Child? What child?_

"I – I don't think so," Kagome inched away from Morgause. The woman was clearly out of her mind.

"Oh," Morgause deflated at her reply, and sat down heavily upon the window sill. "It was the way you were looking at the cauldron you see…" she said forlornly, "it _was_ the cauldron, I guess you know?"

Before Kagome could ask anything further, the ceiling of the room opened like the petals of a giant flower. A staircase spiralled down the middle of it. A tall woman in a billowing black gown gracefully descended down the steps and looked around in an imperious manner.

She clapped her hands once and immediately everybody jerked awake.

Puss sprang up from his corner and bowed deeply.

"Greetings and salutations, Lady Morgan."

Kagome was stunned.

_This was Morgan le Fay? The famous witch of Camelot? Sister of King Arthur?_

Morgan's eyes were dark and shone with a liquid depth. Her skin was pale, in stark contrast with her black, silken hair. The high bridge of her nose added a certain genteel haughtiness to her appearance. Her mouth was the colour of a rose bud, and exquisitely carved.

Miroku came gallantly forward and took Morgan's hand, touching his lips to her fingers.

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Morgan."

He inwardly patted himself for remembering this strange (yet convenient) custom by observing Sirius.

The Lady smiled graciously, slightly inclining her head.

Sango 'accidentally' dropped hiraikotsu on the monk's head.

Morgan touched a button hidden behind a cupboard and the stairway was pulled up, closing the ceiling once again.

"My apologies for keeping you waiting," she spoke in a deep, melodious voice, "I was informing Merlin about your unexpected arrival at Camelot."


	10. The Switch

Morgan quickly scanned the room. Her eyes lingered on her sister.

"Morgause, would you kindly give us a moment?"

Morgause shifted uneasily. "They know about the cauldron," she whispered.

Kagome thought she saw Morgan go pale for a moment.

"Morgause, _now_," the witch commanded, more firmly than before.

Morgause bowed her head and shuffled out of the room, closing the door behind her.

"What's the deal with the cauldron?" Inuyasha asked.

Even though he had kept his silence, it seemed that the earlier event had not escaped his attention.

"My sister isn't quite all there," Morgan said, and added a little hastily: "There are more pressing matters at hand than the incoherent ramblings of a mad woman."

Nobody could dispute the truth of her words.

"Sirius has informed me about you," continued Morgan. "I agree with his proposal – it may well prove fortuitous to keep the Queen and Lancelot away from each other for now. I was thinking of employing the guards, but we run the risk of betrayal. It is better to set you up as spies within the King's quarter."

Sango frowned. "Spies? I don't fancy spying on anybody. I thought you had hired us for combat?"

"Combat is not the only solution to man's problems, young lady," Morgan said with a hint of severity in her voice, "Someday you will be old enough to understand. Tact and strategy can save lives, while violence only mows them down."

Sango bowed her head, subdued.

"Communication between Guinevere's residence and that of Lancelot is not easy, but it can be achieved. Guinevere and Lancelot themselves have their private messengers," Morgan said thoughtfully, "There are servants whom I have confounded within both quarters. Sirius is having them removed even as we speak. Your job is to take their places. Which of you girls is trained for combat?"

Kagome pointed toward Sango.

"Alright, you shall take quarters with the Queen in place of her handmaiden, Isolde. The monk shall take the place of Lancelot's subordinate Bedivere – he has that certain charm and presence of mind that Bedivere possesses to a large degree. We can depend on him to use his intellect should a crisis arise. The priestess and the demon shall be nomads selling trinkets in the city, and act as go-betweens to trade information between the two quarters. The child shall take the place of a pageboy called Safir who is attached to Mordred."

"Wait a minute," Inuyasha interjected, "Won't people notice that we look and dress different?"

Morgan looked at him disdainfully. "You cannot realize it demon, for you have all touched the Dark Crystal, but your names and appearances have changed as soon as you came to Camelot. Why do you think you can understand our tongue and we, yours?"

Kagome was intrigued by this new piece of information. She stole a look at the mirror, but could not see any change in her appearance.

"I had originally promised five hundred gold coins to Sirius for procuring Helen-of-Troy as a fatal diversion for Mordred. Since he's failed in his mission, he has offered to divide the prize between the five of you. That makes a hundred gold each," her tone was brisk and business-like.

"Umm," Inuyasha ventured, "He also mentioned charms. Can I take a charm in lieu of my gold?"

"Charm?" Morgan looked mildly interested, "What sort of charm?"

"Something that can make people come back to life…or prevent them from dying?"

Morgan knitted her brows in a frown.

"Nothing save the dark arts can bring a person back to life. When resurrected the person becomes an abomination, a shadow of their former selves. I do not delve into such dark realms. As for prolonging the lifespan, that can be achieved with the use of stardust. If lived wisely, stardust can prolong a person's natural life up to five centuries."

Within Kagome's heart, her hopes died a little.

_Inuyasha had clearly wanted Kikyou to come back to life...so they could enjoy a normal life as a couple? And now he would keep her alive with the stardust..._

She struggled to control the tears that sprang into her eyes. Now that she knew what he was thinking, it was clear that he had made his choice.

"Won't we do something about the Black Lady?" Shippou spoke for the first time. The kit had been strangely subdued since their arrival at Morgan's tower.

An oddly guarded expression settled over Morgan.

"No. I'll see to her. You don't need to worry about it."

The sentence was a clear, albeit abrupt, dismissal. The guests had no choice but to take their leave.

When the party came out of the Tower, dawn was already breaking in the sky. The bridge of stars was fading away.

"Hurry!" said Puss, "We must cross the bridge before the morning light!"

Again Kagome felt the familiar unease at the thought of treading on an intangible pathway over the churning waves. The stars were cold now, shining like frozen mercury. Parts of the bridge already had holes in them.

The gang sprinted across the ethereal walkway as fast as they could. In the sky, shafts of the morning light had started to pry through the clouds.

_They had only reached halfway across the bridge._

"There isn't enough time! We can't make it!"

Inuyasha swore under his breath. Carrying both Kagome and Sango on his back, he leaped into the air. Shippou transformed into his usual pink balloon. Carrying Miroku on top of his head, he floated behind Inuyasha.

Puss curled into a ball and launched himself into the air, landing gracefully on the cliff, even as the sun began to peek from the horizon.

The bridge vanished right in front of everybody.

"Whew! That was close!" Shippou said as he gave an involuntary shudder.

Skidding to a halt once he reached the cliff, Inuyasha knelt down for his riders to get off his back.

"Now what?" Inuyasha asked Puss.

"Now we part ways. I shall escort the monk and the lady to Sirius. You are free to do as you choose, but be sure to reach the castle before sunset."

Kagome was filled with a sense of foreboding. She did not like the idea of the group splitting up.

"Take care, you three," she called after the retreating kitsune, monk and slayer.


	11. Zellandine's Mansion

Kagome looked at Inuyasha.

The hanyou had been stoically silent ever since they had separated from the rest of the group. It was in silence that they had shared the bentou dinner that Mama had packed the previous night. Kagome had felt a little guilty about not sharing the food with the rest of the group – the events of the night were so weird and unsettling that she had forgotten all about it. It seemed that the rest of the ikkou had forgotten about it as well.

When she shared her concern with Inuyasha he had snorted dismissively:

"They'll be taken care of in the castle."

Those were the only words they had exchanged all morning.

Not that Kagome was complaining. Given the circumstances, the best thing Inuyasha could do was to keep mum, as anything he said would only make things worse. The cold, wet wind lapped her face as she proceeded under a canopy of leaves. The sky was overcast; the sun was nowhere to be seen.

Now that they finally had some peace and quiet, Kagome got a chance to _think_. So far she was only _acting_ or _reacting_. But as she treaded over the mossy forest floor, the dry leaves crunching under her shoes – the little bubbles of emotions jostling in her head coalesced into more concrete trains of thought.

Out of nowhere Sirius popped into her head. Kagome was surprised. Although she felt mildly attracted to the blond stranger, it was neither serious nor worthy of consideration. Not only that, it felt _wrong_ on so many levels. She immediately suppressed the thought, blushing slightly as she stole another glance at her silent companion.

_Inuyasha…the constant thorn buried so deep inside her heart…_

That she cared very deeply for Inuyasha was a truth she couldn't deny, even to herself. It was all his fault, really...the day Rouyakan attacked the village...Kagome was returning to the well...but Inuyasha had stopped her.

_"Kagome, I want you by my side…"_

She didn't know if it was those words or the look in his eyes that sealed her fate.

_"I'll always stay by your side…"_

And yet he left her to search for Kikyou in Mt. Hakurei. Kikyou, who had wanted to become an ordinary woman and live with Inuyasha…Inuyasha, who was ready to go to hell with her…Kikyou and Inuyasha who followed each other in death, and would have remained that way but for Kagome's meddling.

_"I shall let no other man touch the tip of my hair…"_

No wonder then, that Inuyasha wanted to bring his miko back to life, to stop her from dying a second time, to live with her in _her_ house, _her_ village…no wonder he chose to call it 'home'.

Kagome hadn't realized which way her feet were taking her. A chilly breeze nipped at her shoulder. Startled, she looked up. The mansion of Zellandine was looming in front of her.

Up close, she could see that the mansion was in the sorriest state of disrepair. Its stone walls were covered in vines, the garden was overgrown, and the partially corroded iron gates hung slightly ajar, no lock securing them. Yet among the thickets she could make out the faint outline of a path, as though someone had walked through them not long ago.

She looked at Inuyasha, suddenly piqued. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow in response.

"You want to go in, Kagome?"

Kagome thoughtfully chewed her bottom lip.

"You think we should?"

The hanyou shrugged.

"We do have the whole day to us."

Kagome nodded her head.

"Just a peek, then."

Inuyasha cleared the thickets with a deft movement of his sword.

"Maybe I should start doing this more often," he muttered as he sniffed the air for snakes or other dangerous animals, "Remover of weeds and thickets – Naraku will be pleased."

Kagome lowered her gaze.

_'He must be feeling irritated because I dragged him on this quest even though he'd have preferred to stay close of Kikyou.'_

If he felt that way, it wasn't showing on his face. A blast from the Tessaiga and the heavy wooden doors of the mansion broke into splinters, revealing a dark and shabby hall. There were doorways on three sides, while the back of the hall had a raised platform, presumably in order to place a high chair or a throne. The room had no curtains or furniture and the floor was covered with a carpet of dust. Kagome coughed as the smell of mildew invaded her nostrils.

Inuyasha looked at her, worried.

"You okay, Kagome? We can go back if you want."

But Kagome shook her head. Her eyes had an odd glitter in them.

"No, I'm fine…Inuyasha, do you remember what Puss said? About the body of the princess still being inside the mansion?"

"Y~es…" Inuyasha drawled carefully.

"What if we find her and wake her up?"

Inuyasha knitted his brows.

"Don't tell me that you _believe _in that crap, Kagome. What's wrong with you?"

The tears that were banked in a corner of Kagome's mind came to the surface without a warning.

"What's wrong with _you_? How come everything I believe in is always 'crap' to you?"

Inuyasha drew back, surprised.

"Alright, already! You don't have to…y'know…cry and all. We'll go search the darned place."

But even an hour's search had rendered precious little. The mansion was enormous, with at least a hundred rooms. All were empty save for a few pieces of broken furniture – a few chairs, iron vessels, a cracked mirror, a bunch of spears, a broken sundial and so forth. Every inch of the house was covered in cobwebs. And so thick was the dust that there were times when Kagome thought she would choke and die.

At last the two of them stood in a dark and dusty corridor. There were doors on either sides of it – doors that were in various stages of decay and were practically falling off their hinges – all except one, which looked newer than the others. As Kagome's flashlight shone upon it, she saw a lock upon it!

As if responding to an unspoken signal from her, Inuyasha went ahead and blasted the door off with a stroke of Tessaiga. Heart thumping loudly in her chest, Kagome slowly approached the room, ready to come face to face with her favourite fairy tale.

To her surprise, the room was empty.

There was only a stack of cauldrons at one corner of the room. The rest was dingy and covered in a light coat of dust.

_Cauldrons!_

It was as if Kagome and Inuyasha had realized at the same time. Inuyasha took a step towards the cauldrons when~

_Crack!_

Something broke under his feet with a sickening crunch.

Kagome shone her flashlight upon the dusty floor. What she saw made her sick to the pit of her stomach.

_The floor was strewn with the skulls and bones of little children!_


	12. The Lady of the Lake

Kagome looked a little green as she fixed her glance on the scattered bones. She noticed that several of the skulls were dented or cracked – as though they had been smashed in by a heavy object. As she looked closely, she saw that several of the bones looked damaged as well.

She realized she was standing in the midst of a scene of slaughter and massacre.

_'Whose bones could they be…?'_

Beside her, Inuyasha also wore a frown upon his face. His throat rumbled with a low growl.

"Who could've done such a disgusting thing?"

"Inuyasha," Kagome spoke very quietly as wave after wave of nausea threatened to rack her slender frame, "Could you please get me out of here?"

The boy nodded once and then knelt down on the dusty floor. Within moments they were out of the creepy mansion and back into the forest. Kagome took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the clear, crisp air. The nauseating feeling abated. Looking up, she noticed that the clouds had parted, revealing an azure sky. To her surprise, the sun was in mid-heaven.

_'How long have we been inside the mansion?'_

Kagome shook her head, trying to rid her of the disturbing scene back at the mansion. But it clung to her mind as obstinately as the spring frost clings to blades of grass. Inuyasha looked just as disturbed. Neither spoke a word, as the couple made their way past the gnarled trunks of the ancient trees. Both were lost in their own thoughts.

It took them by surprise, then, when the sweet notes from a flute came floating into their ears. Inuyasha flicked his ear, then looked up and sniffed the air.

"There seems to be a pond or lake up ahead," he concluded, "Sound's coming from there."

"Should we investigate it?" Kagome asked, unsure about the sagacity of the move.

Inuyasha, however, had already chosen his course.

"Obviously!"

Increasing her pace, Kagome followed Inuyasha's lead. Soon, the trees parted to reveal a clearing. A vast lake rolled in front of them – the water looked black and forbidding, and was breaking in tiny waves upon the bank. A girl in a blue gown was sitting upon a rock by the side of it. Her cascading golden hair rippled like waves under the sun. In her hand was the most exquisitely carved flute Kagome had even seen. As she played the instrument, she seemed to be bathed in an ethereal light.

On spotting the pair, the girl stopped playing the flute and looked at them with mild surprise. Kagome waved her hand and tried to smile.

"Hello…we are strangers to this land, so we don't know the proper greetings…but I'm Kagome and this is Inuyasha."

The girl smiled in return.

"I'm Nimue, also known as the Lady of the Lake."

Her voice had a sweet, harp-like quality that lent enchantment to even her most commonplace utterances. Kagome suddenly remembered what Puss had said the night before – that the forest was protected by the powers of the Lady of the Lake.

_'So that's her!'_

"I take it that you have come here to save the King," Nimue continued.

"We – umm – yes, I suppose we have. At…at least that's what Sirius had in mind."

The girl nodded thoughtfully. Then she fell quiet. Kagome waited for her response. The bank of the lake became unusually quiet, except for the _tap tap tap_ of Inuyasha's finger impatiently drumming against the bark of a tree. At length, Nimue looked up and smiled rather sadly.

"The King is beyond redemption," she said, "He had many splendid qualities that could have made him a great monarch – selflessness, valour, a certain sense of justice and mercy – he was like a beacon of hope to these war ravaged lands. That's why, I granted him the sword. But he has strayed from his course. To protect his blood he has spilled the blood of the innocent."

"You mean those children whose bones lie in that creepy mansion?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yeah," Kagome quipped, "Who killed those children and why? Puss said you are the guardian of this forest. Do you know something?"

Nimue turned her gaze toward the lake.

"The water holds many secrets in her breast. But it is not her part to reveal them."

"Water?" Kagome followed her gaze: "You mean those May-born boys the King sent away on a ship?"

"There is a great evil at work in this land," Nimue said darkly, "Go back, if you value your life. Go back."

Inuyasha took a step forward.

"Evil? What do you mean?"

The girl looked to the other side of the forest. Kagome was suddenly aware that the ground was shaking. The trees shivered as though with an approaching storm.

She looked at Inuyasha, but he appeared to be quite collected. Turning her head toward the source of the storm, Kagome also understood the reason of the commotion.

A rider was crossing the clearing with furious speed. His black steed was on full gallop, his eyes appeared focussed and intent, his coal black curls trailed behind him in the wind.

Like a flash the horse leapt over a fallen log and disappeared from view.

Inuyasha looked questioningly at Nimue.

"Mordred – the King's fruit of shame," the girl murmured.

She stood lightly upon the stone, and spreading her hands like wings, dove into the inky waters of the lake.


	13. A Flimsy Plan

"So, tell me all about it!" Kagome said as she shifted closer to Sango.

As promised, she and Inuyasha had returned to the castle precisely at sunset. Perseus had received them in the kitchen. They barely had time to wolf down a meagre meal composed of dry bread, a piece of salted bacon and some water before Sirius had burdened them with armfuls of trinkets and sent them off to their destinations. Puss had guided Kagome to Guinevere's resident while Perseus took the task of guiding Inuyasha to Miroku.

Kagome's heart began to race again, at the prospect of finally meeting Queen Guinevere. But her hopes were dashed rather abruptly when Sango appeared alone.

"Her Majesty's having a headache," she explained, pulling a rather long face.

The two girls sat in a corner of the castle and began to toy with a couple of trinkets.

"So, did you meet Queen Guinevere? How's she? I want to know _all_ about it!" Kagome repeated excitedly.

Sango made a face.

"Arrogant little airhead!"

Kagome raised her eyebrows.

"Really? Isn't she beautiful, though?"

"In an obvious sort of way. Rather dumb looking woman, if you honestly ask my opinion. And what's with the terrible attitude?"

Kagome was rather crestfallen. She had imagined Guinevere to be a rare mix of beauty and brains, along the lines of Morgan le Fay. '_Like a proper queen,'_ she thought to herself.

"Maybe she's having a bad day," she wondered aloud.

"Anyhow you'll meet her tomorrow, and then you can see for yourself. So, what about the two of you? What did you do all day?"

Quickly Kagome summarized her adventures in the forest – the mansion of Zellandine, the bones of the children and the warning of Nimue. Sango chewed her bottom lip.

"If we value our lives, eh? That's pretty extreme. I guess we should be careful."

"Could you find out when Guinevere plans on meeting Lancelot?"

Sango shook her head.

"I was talking to the maidservants. Two of Guinevere's handmaidens go out of the castle almost everyday – one is Ganieda and the other is called Brangwain. The rest mostly keep to the inner chambers. I suspect one of the two to be the informant. I've kept an eye on both of them, but so far they have stayed indoors."

Kagome had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"What if the tryst has already been arranged? I don't get it…Morgan's plan is too flimsy. What can we do here in a day or two?"

"Besides, Sirius distinctly asked us to come and fight. Kagome-chan, do you think we are being tricked?"

Kagome could only shrug in bewilderment. Sango looked around cautiously and lowered her voice.

"Given our limitations, the only thing I can do is keep an eye on them from here. But once they go out of castle premises…"

Kagome took an amulet out of her pocket and pressed it into Sango's hand.

"Sirius said it's infused with magical properties. I have a similar one, see?" she took out a similar looking amulet. "When you touch yours, mine will give off a warning. If either of your suspects go out of the castle just give me a heads up and I'll follow them. If they go near Lancelot's residence, I'll warn Miroku-sama. Likewise, Inuyasha will warn you if someone approaches from Lancelot's residence – he and Miroku-sama, too, will have one of these. Then you can intercept them at the gate and prevent them from delivering the message."

"Even by force?"

"I guess…Morgan did ask for someone trained in combat."

Sango looked at the amulet carefully, and then pressed her thumb down on it.

The pocket of Kagome's skirt emitted a red glow.

"Quite honestly, I still don't consider it to be a sound plan at all," Sango said as she turned the amulet over in her hand, "Still, five hundred gold coins is quite a good price for sitting duck. Why, I'll be able to live quite a decent life with Kohaku, once I get him out of Naraku's clutches."

Kagome patted Sango's arm sympathetically.

"We'll fight Naraku and bring back Kohaku very soon, I promise."

She had no idea how she would keep that promise, though.

* * *

An hour later, Puss guided Kagome to a tent in the middle of a field. A few other tents were scattered nearby. Around a dozen men and women dressed in strange clothes were sitting around a fire, roasting a pig and talking in a strange language.

"Gypsies," Puss explained.

"I see."

As Puss opened the flaps of the tent, Kagome found Sirius and Inuyasha to be already there. As she went in, Sirius stood up respectfully to greet her. Inuyasha remained crouched in a corner.

Sitting down upon her bag, Kagome told the men all about her conversation with Sango, especially about Ganieda and Brangwain. Sirius listened to everything attentively. After she finished, he joined the tip of his fingers thoughtfully.

"Did she find out who the informant is, between the two?"

"No…but she'll keep an eye on both."

Sirius nodded. "I see. Is that all?"

"For now."

Next, Sirius looked at Inuyasha. The boy still wore a scowl as he stirred from his corner.

"This Lance-ah-whatshisname is going to march toward the Dolorous Guard tomorrow. He has confided in Miroku that he's going to meet the Queen one last time before he leaves. Miroku doesn't know who the informant is yet, and it's difficult to identify him, as the men are going out all the time. He's taking Lance-ah-whatever to a revelry tonight where he'll try to wheedle the information out of him." he ended in an apathetic monotone.

Again, Sirius nodded his head. He looked at Kagome.

"Could you go to the Queen's castle in the morning on some pretext and apprise your friend of this development?"

"Sure I will."

"I'm not done yet," Inuyasha spoke with a snarl.

Sirius looked at him in surprise.

"My apologies for interrupting," (Inuyasha grunted here) "Pray, continue."

"I met the brat…Shippou…Mordred is going on a hunting party tomorrow."

Kagome's eyes met those of Sirius. A silent thread of understanding suddenly shimmered between the two. She looked down immediately, fiddling with the hem of her skirt.

_'Geez, what's gotten into me?'_

Raising her eyes, she looked archly at Inuyasha. To her dismay he was looking straight at her, his glance inscrutable. Kagome bristled.

_'How dare he give me that look after being so silly over Kikyou? Hasn't he made his choice already?'_

Sirius coughed lightly, bringing Kagome out of her reverie.

"What do you think, Milady? Should we try to arrange a lover's tryst while Mordred's away or keep them apart in any case?"

Kagome pondered over both options carefully. A third course of action suggested itself to her.

"What if we talk to the Queen about the peril and ask her to call off the tryst?"

Sirius shook his head sadly.

"Have you tried counselling royalty? They are as obstinate as pigs and consider themselves to be beyond the law of the land. She would rather behead you for your gall than concede even an inch."

"Then I'd ask you to err on the side of caution. Who is to say that Mordred won't change his mind about the hunting party?"

"You have spoken my mind, Milady. I agree with you completely."

He rose from the ground and dusted his tunic.

"I should take your leave now. I've left your supper over there. Try to rest yourself well."

As he turned to go, Kagome suddenly remembered something.

"In the morning, Inuyasha and I had gone to investigate Zellandine's mansion. One of the rooms was full of children's bones."

Sirius' eyebrows rose so high they threatened to disappear.

"Bones? Of children?"

Kagome nodded.

"We were hoping you could shed some light on it."

Sirius shook his head.

"This is the first time I'm hearing about it. I'll ask Lady Morgan if she knows."

Looking troubled, Sirius took his leave.


	14. A Dilemma

Once again, circumstances had conspired to leave Kagome alone with Inuyasha.

She knew things were going to be awkward. Really awkward.

With a yawn, Kagome squatted down upon her rucksack. She was exhausted from the day's (and the previous night's) activities. Out of the corner of an eye she saw Inuyasha stir from his corner.

"Stupid tent's giving me cramps," he grumbled as he adjusted his posture.

"Oh don't kvetch!" Kagome replied testily.

She knew it wasn't anger that she was feeling inside her.

Was it pain? Frustration? Fear? Exhaustion?

She didn't know for sure. But the anger was covering up some unpleasant feeling within her. It was shielding her from being vulnerable. So she rather welcomed it. She was too tired to fight it anyway.

A few minutes passed in silence. Then Kagome proceeded to unwrap the knapsack containing dinner that Sirius had laid down previously. She extended a loaf of bread and a piece of roasted salmon towards her companion, who simply turned up his nose at it.

"Who's going to eat that disgusting stuff?"

"Inuyasha!" Kagome was ready to snap, "Must you act so difficult all the time? We're all among unknown people with strange customs and stranger food habits. You're not the only one who's suffering so suck it up and shove the bread down your throat!"

Inuyasha stood up belligerently, his head bumping into the top of the tent.

"There's no way I'm touching that! If you want, you can shove it down _your_ throat…all of it! And wash it down with that disgusting sake!"

Hands clenched by his side, he turned his back and walked out of the tent.

"Where do you think you are going?" Kagome shouted after him, her voice shaking a little.

_'So now he's literally abandoning me?'_

"Outside!" Inuyasha roared back, "To get some fresh air!"

A while later he added in a softer voice: "I'll be right outside the tent so don't worry."

A wave of uncontrollable rage shook Kagome. Everything was becoming so complicated. Everything! The weather was too cold for her liking, the mission was too vague, she was separated from her friends and was going to miss an important test. And to top it all, Inuyasha was being impossible to deal with!

She threw the bread and salmon at his retreating form, but it only hit the tent and slid down the wall, leaving behind a greasy trail. She groaned as her vision began to blur.

_'Always, the tears come at the most inopportune time.'_

With shaking hands she pulled out her sleeping bag from her rucksack and crawled into it. Outside, Inuyasha slid down against the wall of the tent, clutching his head.

_'What's gotten into Kagome now?'_

Come to think of it, she had been acting weird ever since she met the Sirius person. He didn't want to think about what her change in attitude might imply. Thinking about it wanted him to kill stuff.

The starlit night with its soft, balmy breeze was lost upon both of them.

* * *

The night was lost upon another member of the Inuyasha ikkou.

To Miroku, the idea of revelry involved beautiful geishas with their elegant fans, delicious sake poured by a graceful turn of the hand, the tempting glimpses of white skin under a colourful kimono, easy banter and an autumn moon. What he was _not_ prepared for, was a dingy room full of smoke, loud commotion of a group of uncouth men talking, arguing and even singing on top of their voices, portly waiters noisily slamming down wooden mugs full of a bitter drink they called 'ale' and not a single woman in sight.

He was looking around with eyes full of despair when he realized he was being shaken roughly. Starting, he turned around to look into the face of Sir Lancelot.

"Blimey, have you gone deaf?!" the knight thundered, "Why I've been calling for you since the past ten minutes!"

It suddenly occurred to Miroku that he was supposed to answer to 'Bedivere'.

"I'm sorry, Milord, I was rather distracted," he replied hastily.

"What's wrong with you today? You haven't even touched your ale!"

Miroku raised the mug to his nose and sniffed at it delicately. Then deciding against consuming its content, he kept the article back on the table.

"I feel rather under the weather, Sir."

"Well you certainly look quite put out!" Lancelot agreed, "You should go to your chamber and rest."

A tall man with a well-built physique and keen blue eyes, Lancelot du lac was a force to reckon with. But that night Miroku had not the luxury to comply to the former's wishes. He had to find out what the knight had planned regarding his lover's tryst, and while he had his guards down. For all he knew, this was his only chance.

With the face of a martyr, Miroku quickly sipped his ale, making a face as the vile liquid made its way down his throat.

"Well, what d'you know, I do feel a bit better now," he said as he forced a grin, "So, when is Milord planning to visit Her Majesty?"

Lancelot's beard shook with laughter.

"Oh Bedivere, what have you been doing today? Why it was only yesterday that I told you all about it!"

Miroku scratched his chin to signify confusion.

"I'm sorry Milord, but my mind is all muddled up..."

"Didn't Brangwain get in touch with you yet?" Lancelot frowned slightly.

Miroku blinked once. _'Who the hell is Brangwain?'_

"Oh don't make that face, Bedivere!" Lancelot growled at the monk, "Surely you remember the name of your sweet lassie! Could you pass on the information to her yet?"

_'Aha!'_

A glimmer of understanding ran through Miroku's head. Finally he could under what had confused him so far.

So _that_ was the reason he couldn't figure out who was the go-between from Lancelot's side for his secret meetings with the Queen.

_He himself, or rather Bedivere himself, was the informant on Lancelot's side. _This Brangwain person was at the other end of the spectrum.

And Brangwain was coming to get news from him about Lancelot's arrival at the Queen's castle. It suddenly made things much simpler. _'Morgan le Fay has chosen well,'_ he thought appreciatively.

But his optimism was short-lived. Soon the other part of the conundrum hit him – he did not know what message he was supposed to deliver!

"Ah, no I haven't seen her yet…I take it that there has been no change in Milord's plans?" he asked tactfully, hoping to draw out some information from him.

"No, no change. It's the same as I told you yesterday," the knight replied tersely.

"Which is~" the monk drawled on hopefully.

Lancelot cast a glance around the room.

"I can't tell you here!" he whispered into Miroku's ears, "For heaven's sakes go home and go to sleep, dear boy! I reckon you'll remember everything by tomorrow."

The knight got up from his bench and made his way through the crowd, leaving Miroku alone to bite his lips to his heart's content. It was clear that he wouldn't get much more information out of Lancelot that night. He could try pursuing the topic the next day or deliberately lie to Brangwain and spoil the rendezvous.

Shaking his head bemusedly, he got up and slowly walked out of the crowded tavern, breathing in the fresh, clean night air.


	15. Guinevere

_"Isolde!"_

Sango pinched her eyes shut as Queen Guinevere called her name. Again.

She had been running errands the whole evening and now it was way past bedtime. Yet the Queen showed no sign of stemming her endless whining. With a resigned look, the taijiya approached the bed, where Her Majesty lay among a pile of blankets.

The light of a nearby lamp shone upon the royal form, giving the illusion of rippling cascades to her long, ebon tresses. Her grey eyes and pink, pouty lips cast a lovely contrast, infusing her face with a wistful sort of beauty. Her right hand clutched at her blankets, while the jewelry-adorned left hand was artistically placed over her head, giving her the appearance of a heroine from a Greek tragedy.

On seeing Sango, she tossed her head dramatically.

"Oh I'm _dying_, Isolde, I'm positively _dying_ this moment!"

"Of what, Your Highness?" Sango asked dryly before she could check herself.

The Queen looked at her with frank, wide eyes.

"Why of _love_, of course! His love is _killing_ me, it is coursing through my veins like an adder, his kisses are melting my skin…oh I'm _burning_ I tell you…I haven't slept a wink in _two days_!"

She thrashed around the bed in an attempt to lend credibility to her claim. Sango was going to point out that her flawless appearance had certainly belied that fact, but this time she held her tongue.

_'No use causing trouble for the real Isolde, when she comes back.'_

The Queen held out her hand to Sango. Sango obediently took it in hers.

"Sit with me, Isolde," the Queen sobbed like a child, "I need to be comforted tonight."

Sango sat at the edge of the bed and Guinevere put her head on her shoulder.

"I am pining away, Isolde, look how thin my wrists have become! If he doesn't come tonight, I'll fade away I swear! I cannot take another moment of this misery! Oh why won't that brute come to visit me?"

Sango felt a little adventurous. She knew if she was going get any information out of the Queen it was then.

"You are referring to~" she proceeded cautiously.

Guinevere stilled.

"His Majesty the King, of course!"

Sango narrowed her eyes.

_'Cautious little liar aren't you?'_

"Of course…I thought as much. It's just that you called him a 'brute'…" she said aloud.

Guinevere relaxed again.

"A wife can call her husband names irrespective of whether he's the King," she looked into Sango's, or rather Isolde's, face. Her eyes were shrewd and calculating. "I heard he's had you too, Isolde. What did _you_ call him when he lay down between your legs?"

Sango felt the warmth spread to her cheeks. Even though the insult was aimed at Isolde, she still felt cheap.

"I…I beg your pardon…" she stammered as her ears turned red.

The Queen smiled innocently, maliciously. She smiled alluringly and yet it was a smile full of contempt. She brought her lips close to Sango's ear and spoke with a venomous hiss.

"The likes of you know of nothing more than base desires that even _animals_ know. The King has mounted your body and yet no hand has touched your heart. But I am different from you. I've been touched you see," she put a white hand over her ample bosom, "I've been touched _here_, within my _heart_. So you can _never_ comprehend my agony. I live and die by his words and his passion. Agony and ecstasy – that's what love has meant to me."

Drawing her head away, Guinevere cocked her head to one side as she scanned Sango's face.

"What does love mean to you, Isolde?"

Sango was in no mood to discuss the intricacies of love, least of all with Guinevere. But in her heart she knew that avoiding the question would only prolong the discussion. It was better to give a straight answer and be done with it.

Looking into Guinevere's cold eyes, Sango spoke in clear, quiet words.

"Love, to me, is sacrifice, Your Majesty. When you sacrifice your own happiness for the sake of your beloved, when you give up your comforts because he is suffering, when you willingly give up your life to protect him – that, to me, is love. I do not believe in playing the harp at night in the bedchamber of my darling. Rather, I was to be his shield and sword, an ally, a friend and a comrade in the battle of life. That, to me, is the definition of love."

Guinevere blinked once, then she turned her eyes away. Her face looked thoughtful, clouded over by an obscure emotion.

_'That shut you up didn't it?'_

Silence reigned in the royal chamber.

At length, Sango rose from the bed. Guinevere turned her head back toward Sango. She delicately cleared her throat.

"I had sent Brangwain to get something for me. Ask her if she has got it yet."

* * *

"Have you polished your boots yet, Safir?" a boy of around eleven sat down beside Shippou.

The kitsune frowned.

"Are we going somewhere?"

"For the hunt, you dummy! Tomorrow we'll get to ride our own horses!"

It was enough to make Shippou facepalm. Hard.

"Oh…the hunt! I totally forgot!"

_'How the hell am I going to ride a horse? Curse you Inuyasha, for getting me into this mess!'_

He wasn't sure how Inuyasha could be blamed for his predicament. But he wasn't too worried – he would think of something.

"Ehehe…I don't think I'll be able to go…I seem to have sprained an ankle."

The boy looked at Shippou's feet.

"They look alright to me!"

"They really hurt. And…and…yeah that's right! There's the fever! I'm having a fever!"

The boy touched Shippou's cold forehead.

"You don't have a fever. What are you saying?"

"See, I'm delirious. I can't go to a hunt like this…"

"What?"

A drop of sweat trickled down the side of Shippou's forehead. He liked the boy less and less every second. He was slowly inching away from his opponent when he struck something solid behind him. He turned around to be face to face with a pair of legs. Looking up, he discovered the owner of the legs to be none other than Mordred.

The knight looked down at him sternly.

"Would you watch where you are going?"

"S-sorry Milord," Shippou curtsied to his temporary liege.

"The hunt has been cancelled. Come and help me undress."

Turning on his heels, Mordred walked out of the room. Shippou followed suit.


	16. Red Dawn

Cool, dark eyes swept over the grey stone-scape, now washed with the bloody hues of the rising sun.

_A red sunrise and a promise of blood…_

The vista looked cold and frighteningly unforgiving.

There was a soft noise in the room as a cat leapt down from a shelf and landed on the floor. Morgan tore her eyes away from the window.

With firm, measured steps she went over to three adjacent cots in a corner of the room. The occupants of the cots seemed to be sleeping soundly, occasionally twitching as though they were having a nightmare.

A frown creased Morgan's porcelain brow. It was true that Merlin had sent his best apprentice to stun Isolde, Bedivere and Safir but still…ideally the process should have been free of pain.

Bending over Isolde, Morgan checked a violet bruise over her left eyebrow. It was nothing serious, but the pain could have been avoided had the apprentice caught her in time and broken her fall. Morgan took a vial from one of the shelves and rubbed a little tincture upon the bruise.

_'Curse you, Sirius…'_

It was all because of Sirius. He had failed in his mission. On top of that, he had brought over a bunch of strange people from a different era without even consulting her. When he contacted her to give the news she was thoroughly annoyed.

_'A hastily arranged plan…'_

That was what she needed. Together, the group looked formidable – and impervious to corruption. Between the priestess, the demon, the monk and the slayer they had the brains _and _the physical prowess to solve the secrets that she, Morgan le Fay, took such pains to conceal.

She had needed to scatter them – to triangulate their conversations. She had to act quickly.

She had contacted Merlin, asking for his help to stun and abduct Isolde, Bedivere and Safir. And then, to concoct an espionage story.

_'How foolish of them not to suspect…'_

What would be the next step? That, Morgan did not know. She had to think of something, to concoct another story and somehow send the group back to their time before everything came undone.

The fire in the room suddenly turned bright blue and Sirius' face appeared within.

"Greetings, Milady."

Morgan acknowledged the greeting with a slight bend of her head.

"What is the news from the castle?"

"All is well, Milady."

"And how are your friends doing?"

"Miroku, Sango and Shippou are properly settled in their respective quarters. Inuyasha and Lady Kagome are hiding among the gypsies."

The ghost of a smile grazed over Morgan's lips.

_'So far so good…'_

"Anything else of interest?"

"Not that I can think of..."

Morgan's shoulders sagged with relief.

But Sirius appeared to be ill at ease.

"Unless…well, there's one other thing…"

Morgan tensed again. Within her mind, at a place divorced from reason, a strange sense of misgiving began to take shape.

"Go on," her voice shook slightly as she spoke.

"Lady Kagome was saying she had gone inside Zellandine's mansion."

Sirius was looking at Morgan through a haze of flames, so he did not notice her turning white at the mention of the place. Morgan ran her tongue over her dry lips as her voice became slightly hoarse.

"And…?"

"Well, this is the strangest thing of all. She said there was a room full of bones – children's bones…and skulls."

Morgan's face was inscrutable as she looked into the fire. There was a long silence. Then Sirius spoke.

"What would you have me do about it, Milady?"

Morgan's head snapped up.

"Nothing!" she fairly barked at him.

Sirius' face must have betrayed surprise, for a moment later Morgan cleared her throat and spoke in a would-be calm voice.

"I'll look into the matter myself. Meanwhile you keep the girl away from…away from such dangerous places. It won't do her an iota of good to court danger on her own."

Sirius bowed his head.

"As you wish, Milady."

His face disappeared and the flames returned to normal.

Morgan looked into the mirror. A pale, anxious face looked back at her. Slowly her lips formed a hard line.

_'I have to do something about that girl…'_

* * *

_I'm so lonely…_

Kagome awakened to the sound of the rain. Uncurling from her foetal position, she stretched her cramped limbs, blinking up at a dull brown ceiling as a drop of water splashed upon her forehead. For a while, she could not recognize her whereabouts.

_'Oh I am sleeping inside a tent…'_

It shielded her from the rain but the drumming pounded against her ears.

Listening to the sound made her lonely. It was strange, she thought. She should have gotten used to loneliness by now.

Noiselessly, she crawled out of her sleeping bag and then out of the tent. A spot of vivid red caught the corner of her eye.

Inuyasha was leaning against wall of the tent, shielded from the rain and clearly asleep. With his right hand he was clutching the Tessaiga while the left was curled under his cheek. In the grey light of the morning he was looking as innocent as an angel.

He looked so alluring that she ended up closing the gap between them. At that moment her heart went out to him. She wanted to keep his head on her lap; wanted to keep looking at his sleeping face forever and brush away the strands of hair falling on his forehead. If he slept next to her every night, she might have looked forward to waking up after all.

But Inuyasha was so far away – she couldn't even begin to cover the distance between them. He was no longer 'her' Inuyasha. He was Kikyou's lover, something that did not belong to her.

Kagome couldn't tell if it was a raindrop or a tear that was sliding down her cheek.

Something green jumped up from the grass and into Inuyasha's hand. The latter jerked awake, shaking the frog off his hand. Then his eyes locked with Kagome's.

Inuyasha frowned.

"What're you looking at me like _that_ for, wench?"

Kagome blinked and turned her face away.

"It's nothing."

There was a moment's silence. Then Inuyasha spoke quietly.

"Keh! It's not like I'm stupid, y'know."

Kagome slowly turned around.

"What do you mean, Inuyasha?"

"I could hear the way your heart was racing when you talked to…to _him_ last night. And you looked mighty embarrassed…and then you were so miserable after he left – I can read the signs too. It's only a matter of time before you-"

Kagome couldn't wait for him to finish. She was shaking with anger again, her hands balling into fists. Before she knew it, she had lost her cool.

"Before I _what, _Inuyasha? And what do _you_ care? You've already made your choice, haven't you?"

Instead of replying, Inuyasha sniffed in the air.

"Your lover boy's coming," he muttered and looked away.


	17. Uneasy Lies The Head

Miroku was caressing the butt of the prettiest geisha in town.

"Oh Miroku!" the woman squealed in delight, sparkles in her eyes and a hand upon her cheek, "You are burning me up!"

"Am I, sweet lady?" the monk gave his best smirk, "Then I suppose you won't mind carrying my child?"

"Only if you promise to feel my butt everyday!"

Miroku's hand curled around the soft, voluptuous curve. The geisha reached out her exquisite, white hand to caress his cheek. A garden of lovely roses spontaneously blossomed around them. And then-

_Slap!_

The geisha (and the beautiful garden) dissolved into black nothingness. His eyes snapped open as he blinked in surprise.

_'Where the hell am I?'_

Rubbing his cheek, which was still smarting, the monk took a look around the room – a low table, a bleak window, a chamber pot – a voluminous woman standing at his bedside, her hands on her hips. From her expression she looked very angry about something.

"What makes ye think ye can grab my arse, ye gobsmacking tosser!" the woman yelled lustily, almost causing Miroku to jump out of his bed.

"I-I'm sorry…it was just a dream…"

As his brain started to function, he realized he had slept in Bedivere's room the night before.

"Well ye better not try anything like that again or I'll have ye thrown off the tower, Sir Lancelot's companion or not," she wagged a warning finger before his face.

From her looks and manner of dressing, he surmised her to be a chambermaid.

"I'm sorry," he repeated, trying to look sincere, "It won't happen again."

She made a sort of grunt in her throat and started vigorously sweeping the floor with a wooden broom. Miroku stretched and threw off his blanket, immediately regretting his decision as a gust of cold wind blew in through the window. Reaching out, he grabbed Bedivere's cloak and wrapped it around him.

The woman suddenly stopped sweeping. Miroku tensed, fearing another angry tirade.

"Merlin's beard! I forgot to mention. Yer sweet lassie is waiting downstairs."

Miroku frowned.

"Sango?"

The woman looked at him in surprise.

"Brangwain, ye dummy! Who's Sango?"

"N-nobody…"

_'Damn! She must have come for information about the tryst! What am I going to tell her?'_

"How many girls are ye making love to?" the woman showed no sign of relenting.

"That's none of your business," Miroku spoke with as much dignity as he could muster.

The woman gave an evil chuckle as he hurried out of the room.

* * *

With the appearance of Sirius, the atmosphere outside the tent had become taut.

"Greetings Inuyasha, Lady Kagome."

Inuyasha and Kagome hardly looked at each other as they respectively grunted and dimly smiled in response.

Kagome took a step closer to Sirius.

"So long then, I'll be off to the Queen's chamber now," as she spoke, her voice slightly faltered.

Sirius looked taken aback.

"What, at _this_ hour? Surely you need to…to groom yourself…" he blushed furiously as he left the sentence hanging in the air and looked at a nearby puddle.

If it was any other time, Kagome would have found his old-world manners quite charming.

"…and after you attend to…all that…I shall escort the two of you to my chamber for breakfast."

Inuyasha spoke before Kagome had the chance to reply.

"Well ain't that a lovely offer? You stay with poop-head, Kagome, while I go talk to Miroku."

The words, spoken callously, impersonally, went like knives through Kagome's heart. While she was used to handling Inuyasha's fire, his ice was too much to take. She winced as though she had been slapped on her face.

Her look of pain and misery wasn't lost upon Inuyasha. His eyes softened a shade.

"I want to find out if Miroku could learn something at the revelry last night," he added by way of explanation before taking off at top speed.

Sirius and Kagome glanced awkwardly at each other. Kagome attempted to smile again.

"Inuyasha can go without food for days," she said by way of an apology.

* * *

Arthur, son of Uther Pendragon leaned against his high backed wooden chair as he consumed his solitary breakfast that comprised of cold bread, fruits and wine. His slaves were running around, carrying various items of food to the table. The sound of their feet echoed in the voluminous dining hall decorated with weapons and "trophies" from hunts.

The chill ray of a clouded sun slanted upon his face, making him look more like a statue than a human being.

"Oh Mordred, what are you planning to do now…" the King murmured to himself as he closed his eyes.

When had Mordred begun to suspect an affair between Lancelot and the Queen? He was not sure.

_'They should have been more careful.'_

He could not afford to lose Lancelot. The Round Table would be broken; the country would be thrown into anarchy; the peace and unification that he was striving for ever since the Romans left their outposts in Britain to fight off their invaders, would shatter and fly away with the four winds. He was close, too close to his dream. He could not let one man's foolish madness to upset the whole order.

_'But if Lancelot is caught with Guinevere I shall have no choice but to condemn him for treason…'_

He didn't particularly care about Guinevere's fate. Women were useful only for begetting offspring. In Guinevere's case, she had even failed at that. She was easily disposable but Lancelot was indispensable.

That was the reason why he had decided to send Mordred to face Lucius Tiberius of Rome – knowing fully well that he was sending the boy to his death. Just so Lancelot and Guinevere could be safe from public exposure. But Mordred seemed to be hell-bent on causing mischief before he left.

_'If I can find out about the hour of their tryst I can intervene…' _

Sir Galahad's form appeared at the doorway. He bowed to the King.

"It is time for the court to commence, my Liege."


	18. The Miracle Cure

Miroku was making an unceremonious exit via the back door of Bedivere's house when he was accosted by a bearded man in brown tunic.

A few minutes earlier, he was standing outside Bedivere's bedroom, furiously debating with himself.

_'Brangwain is waiting for you downstairs. Now be a man and ask her if she would bear your child,' _lecherous Miroku egged him on.

_'You have no idea what message you are supposed to deliver!' _cautious Miroku warned him.

_'Then lie to her…you lie to people about ominous clouds all the time!'_ Sinful Miroku slyly suggested.

_'No! It could cause a great deal of trouble for the real Bedivere,'_ honest Miroku rebuked him.

_'You must consult with Morgan le Fay,' _they all concurred.

_'…and ask her if she would bear your child,'_ lecherous Miroku added helpfully.

_'But how to get past Brangwain?' _asked cautious Miroku.

The answer presented itself in the form of the scullery door. And _voila_!

Except for the bearded man who walked up to him and said:

"What's this, Bedivere? Why are you sneaking out of your own house like a thief? You should emerge properly through the front door."

"Eh? Thief?" Miroku blinked. "Oh, _that's_ right, I…in fact I was going to do exactly that – check how accessible my house is to thieves."

The man frowned.

"But wouldn't the logical thing be to try to get _into_ the house and not _out_ of it?"

Miroku swallowed.

"Ehehe, you're right…_except..._ah! That I had already gone into the house _earlier_ and now I was checking the other way around."

"Well," the man persisted, "If the thief got in without being seen, there's little chance of him being seen on his way out, is there?"

Miroku was fumbling in the dark for a good reply when he was distracted by the sound of running feet. Out of the corner of his eye he caught Shippou running toward his house at top speed. The bearded nuisance also turned around at the same time.

"Safir? What are you doing in this part of the town?"

"I have…business…with Miro- I mean…with Bedivere," Shippou said between gasps for air.

"Ah, that's right," Miroku brightened, "I am meeting Safir in secret here. Pray do not spread word about this."

The man looked from Shippou to Miroku, with a perplexed frown.

"Business? With _Safir_?"

"Yes, and if you don't mind, we wish to speak in private," Miroku said.

"Well, certainly," said the man and reluctantly left the duo, casting longing glances back at them as he made his way.

"What a creepy guy!" Miroku shuddered.

"Tell me about it!" Shippou shook his head slowly, "His son is apprenticed to Mordred. Stupid boy keeps pestering me all day."

"So, what makes you come here, Shippou? Do you have something to say?"

"Obviously," the kitsune jumped upon Miroku's shoulder, bringing his lips to the latter's ear and whispered a short message.

Miroku's shoulders sagged in relief.

_'Buddha, the great and merciful be thanked…'_

* * *

Kagome checked her reflection in her small, hand-held mirror.

She had put on her blue skirt, topping it with a white blouse and a pale pink cardigan. Her hair was brushed neatly and her lips glistened pink with a coat of gloss.

She smiled with satisfaction at her image.

_'Not as pretty as Kikyou, huh?'_

Hoisting her rucksack upon her back she stepped out of the tent confidently, basking under the honeyed sun and Sirius' glance that freely conveyed his admiration for her.

"Let's go!"

Sirius, unable to fathom this sudden change of mood in her, nodded mechanically and offered his hand.

"Let me carry that knapsack for you, Milady."

Soon they were walking through a field of velvety emerald grass. Kagome looked sideways at Sirius. Even now, his proud profile and keen, golden eyes drew her into a pool of forbidden delights. She knew, under that tunic he would be just the same as Inuyasha.

How many times had she felt Inuyasha's muscular body while treating his wounds? Always her fingers would trail a moment longer than necessary over his tight, warm flesh. There were times she could feel him leaning in, begging her cool caress to heal his exhausted soul. At those times she would also lean in, briefly burying her face in his silken hair.

Of course, it didn't help things any that he would go chasing after Kikyou the very next moment. Whenever, _whenever_ she made any progress with Inuyasha, _bang_! Kikyou would appear and things would go back to square one.

But…why was she thinking about all that now? She was walking arm in arm with a gorgeous man and hell if she'd allow Inuyasha's thoughts to ruin the moment for her! Like they say, the miracle cure of being dumped by one man is another man.

Kagome took a deep breath.

"I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Yes, Milady?"

"How come you are called Sirius? Isn't the name Greek rather than Celtic?"

Sirius gave a low chuckle.

"You are certainly well-versed in nomenclature, Milady. You are correct, I'm not a Briton. But I'm not Greek either. Actually, my parents were of Roman origin."

"Oh, is that so?"

Sirius nodded his head.

"But…that still doesn't explain your name."

_'Why am I after his name?' _Kagome groaned inwardly,_ 'Geez…is that the best I can come up with?'_

But Sirius looked happy to explain.

"Are you aware, that the cult of Sirius had originally developed in Egypt, where the rising of the star they called 'Sopdet' marked the annual flooding of the Nile? The Greeks picked it up from them – although they gave it a rather negative turn by associating it with the 'dog days' of summer and astroboletos…being 'star struck'."

Kagome blinked.

"So _that's _where these expressions came from?"

Sirius nodded again.

"When the Romans conquered Greece they took a slice of the Greek culture with them, including the cult of Sirius; only, now it became Lethaeus, the guardian of the gate of Hell. Even now they celebrate the setting of the red star by offering a dog to it, along with wine, incense, sheep and such."

Kagome raised an eyebrow.

"The _red _star? You must be mistaken…Sirius is white, not red."

"Oh but they call it a red star, an angry star…in fact the name itself means the Scorcher."

Kagome smiled.

"Is that why you wear red all the time?"

Sirius looked down at his crimson robe.

"You don't like red?"

A memory of being embraced by vivid red fur shimmered before Kagome's eyes.

"Actually, it's my favourite colour."

She hadn't noticed when the two of them had left the meadow. They were now walking on a cobbled road. There were rows of houses on either side, leaving a narrow path for horse-drawn carriages. Sirius made his way in silence.

Something from their earlier conversation flashed in Kagome's head.

"Wait a second! This is the 6th century, and the Romans have left Britain almost a hundred years ago...how come you are still here?"

Sirius laughed this time, the sound creating butterflies in Kagome's stomach.

"Good question! My great-grandfather came from a family of scholars related to the clan of Nigidius Figulus. He had originally come to this land with _his_ father, who wished to propagate education among the natives, and the use of Latin for reading and writing. Started a small school in his house, too. When my great-grandfather came of age he married the daughter of a native farmer and took the responsibility of the school upon his shoulders. After Rome abandoned Britain, he decided to stay back and work toward the betterment of the people here. In fact, my grandfather was appointed tutor to the young royals by none other than Uther Pendragon. He has taught both the King and Lady Morgan."

"And your father?"

There was a slight pause before he tersely said:

"My parents died a long time ago."

Kagome was taken aback. She felt as though she'd heard these words earlier.

_'That was Inuyasha…' _

She knew by instinct that Sirius wouldn't talk any more about it so it fell upon her to change the subject.

"Do you still run the school?"

A slight frown appeared on Sirius' brow.

"In a manner of speaking. The men here have more interest in the plough and the sword than the pen. They send few of their sons to school, and that too only until they are twelve. That's why I assist Lady Morgan in her duties whenever I can. I need the extra income."

Kagome nodded with understanding.

"No wonder they call these times the Dark Ages."

Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"Is that what they say? Well, I should be grateful that at least we shall make it to the annals of history. I was afraid there would be no minstrel to sing our glory in a hundred years, nor to lament our bitter defeats."

"To be perfectly honest, King Arthur is mentioned more in lore and legend than actual _history_."

"…and I?"

Kagome laughed to see the hopeful, puppy dog eyes. She shook her head.

"Not even a footnote."

"You know, it is a pleasure to make you acquaintance, Milady" Sirius suddenly said, "It is rare to come across so erudite a woman here, with the exception of Lady Morgan."

"Ehehe…really?" Kagome looked back to all the school lessons she had missed in the last few months. Education could hardly be called her priority.

Her face must have exuded incredulity, for Sirius hastened to add:

"The women here only know how to cook or sew. Not the best topics for conversation."

Taking a bylane, he halted in front of a house with a nondescript wooden door, and knocked on it.

A minute later it was opened by a pale, middle-aged woman.


	19. Betrayal

"Welcome to my humble abode, Milady" Sirius announced as he led Kagome inside the house.

The woman who had opened the door made a short courtesy at Kagome.

"A letter from your brother has arrived, Sir," she told Sirius before disappearing through another door.

Kagome looked with curiosity at the room into which she had just been ushered.

It was decorated simply – to the point of being austere. In the centre of the room there was a wooden bench and a table, upon which lay a neatly arranged stack of parchments. Beside the stack lay a simple inkwell and a feather.

The wall opposite to it was bare save for a small window. In a corner there was a wooden rack, its shelves filled with rolled up parchments. A shield rested against the side of the rack. A door on the other side presumably led to the rest of the house.

Sirius bade Kagome sit on the bench, dropping her rucksack on the table.

"I am curious, Milady," he said as he squatted down on the bench beside her and rubbed his palms, "How could you come so easily on this quest? Do you travel often with your companions? Do you not have a family?"

"Well I do have one…" Kagome thought for a while how to explain her own time travel situation, before abandoning the prospect as hopeless. "They don't mind me travelling around as long as Inuyasha is there to protect me."

"Ah, I see."

"My father died when I was really young," she continued, "So it's just been Gramps, Mama, my brother and I. Speaking of which, you haven't mentioned your brother to me…"

A dark scowl set on Sirius' handsome face.

"You wish to know about Polonius? Well, for one thing he's no brother of mine."

Kagome's heart gave a loud thump.

_'Oh no…not again!'_

"Why? What has he done?" she ventured to ask.

Sirius got up from the bench and walked over to the window. He looked outside, his face carefully concealed from Kagome. When he spoke his voice was smaller than the beating of an insect's wings.

"I haven't told you about my father yet. Well, here's the thing. When he was a young man, my father rebelled against my grandfather and went to live in Rome for a while. There he fell in love with the daughter of a nobleman. The nobleman, Antonius, didn't want his daughter to marry a poor scholar, but she didn't listen to him. One night she eloped with her lover. They got married and Polonius was born a year later."

Kagome nodded to show she was listening.

"The birth of Polonius caused my parents to be reconciled with Antonius – who didn't have any other heir. In fact, under his patronage, Father started holding an influential position among the scholars of the kingdom. But his heart wasn't in it. He had grown tired of Rome. He wanted to return to Grandfather in order to continue educating the natives. Antonius was furious when he heard about it. He didn't mind letting Father go, but he wanted Mother and Polonius to stay back with him."

"And then?"

"Well, Father couldn't let that happen so in the end they fled Rome under the cloak of darkness. They came to this land and after a while, I was born…I had a very happy childhood, you know. There would always be music and laughter in this house. I especially adored Polonius. To me, he represented everything that was great and wonderful in this world. But little did I know what was going on in his heart."

There was so much sorrow in Sirius' voice that Kagome couldn't help walking up to him and keeping a hand on his shoulder. He partially turned his face toward her. He looked pale, as though haunted by a painful and horrific memory.

"Polonius had become obsessed with Rome – the white marble houses, the fountains, the orchards – he would talk about them all the time. He would keep comparing this land with Rome, calling this place bleak and barbaric. He would talk about untold riches and great power – images from his childhood warped and distorted by imperfect recollection. In his head, Rome was the ultimate place to be, the land of utopia."

Kagome nodded again.

"One day when he was fifteen, he set out for Rome in order to reconcile with Antonius. The old fox was desperately in need of an heir, but he wasn't ready to forgive Father for his supposed betrayal. He laid a condition before Polonius. He said he'd accept Polonius as his heir if he could prove that the blood that ran through his veins was that of Antonius, not of Father…_he wanted Polonius to kill Father_."

Kagome gave a loud gasp. Her eyes had become as large as saucers.

"Surely not his own father? Didn't Polonius refuse to do it?"

Sirius turned his face away.

"I remember the night Polonius returned from Rome. It was past my bedtime but something had awakened me. People were talking in this room. I tiptoed into the corridor and peeped through a crack in the door."

Sirius gave an involuntary shiver. Kagome put her hand on his arm.

"Polonius was asking Father how he would prefer to die. Father told him he would poison the wine himself. He loved Polonius more than anything…he didn't want his death to be on my brother's conscience. Then Mother said she'd join Father. She said she had seen enough in life…they talked and laughed all night while drinking the wine. Polonius played the harp for them until their goblets slipped from their hands…"

A teardrop rolled down Sirius' cheek.

"The next morning, Polonius came in through the front door as though he had just arrived. He mourned for Father and Mother. He wanted to take me to Rome with him…but I couldn't go…_I hated him!_ But I never told him that I knew…"

Sirius' knuckles that were gripping the window sill were as white as bones. His long hair hid his face from Kagome's view.

At that moment all Kagome wanted was to hug Sirius and wipe his eyes. It was neither out of attraction nor out of pity. It simply seemed to her that the grown man beside her had somehow been transformed into the little boy who had seen his parents being horribly murdered by his own brother – the person he loved and trusted the most in this world. And she wanted to console this lost, little wandering waif.

The connection that was shimmering between them before suddenly seemed to have broadened into a wide, golden beam of understanding.

Before she could speak, however, the door noisily opened and the woman from earlier entered with a tray full of round bread, blueberries and water.

"Breakfast is ready, Sir," she announced.


	20. Agony and Ecstasy

"Breakfast is ready, Sir," the woman announced.

Kagome looked at Sirius, her eyes gleaming like jewels under her long lashes.

"Are you alright?"

Sirius took a moment before he turned around. It was all he needed to regain mastery over himself, although his face continued to look very pale.

"Thank you, Anna."

The woman curtsied and made her way out of the room. Sirius led Kagome to the table.

"It is not much, I'm afraid, but it will keep you nourished all the same."

As Kagome sat upon the bench she stole another concerned glance at Sirius. He laughed humourlessly.

"I assure you I'm quite alright, Milady. In fact, I am rather embarrassed that I let you see me in such a state. I…I don't know why I told you all that…this is the first time I've spoken about that night to anybody."

Kagome tried to laugh casually.

"Well, sometimes it is easier to share things with complete strangers, than to share them with even your closest friends."

"No, Kagome…"

Kagome's heart gave a loud _thump_.

_'He called me by name…'_

Scraps of memory from another era floated into her mind. She and Inuyasha had just destroyed Yura of the Inverted Hair.

"…Kagome…"

She had gasped as her heart thumped wildly in her chest.

Inuyasha looked at her and frowned.

"…What's the matter now?"

"This is the first time you've called me by name…"

_'Why does this man evoke the same feelings within me?'_

She hadn't noticed when Sirius had leaned in toward her. He was almost nose-to-nose with her, his amber eyes shining like glass beads.

"Do you think I shared this memory with you because you are a stranger to me?"

Kagome drew her head back slightly. Words seemed to have left her. She noticed with chagrin that her cheeks had become warm. Her mind was in a buzz.

Looking still like he was fighting back tears, Sirius' long lashes lowered as his forehead briefly touched Kagome's. Then he pulled away, pushing a plateful of berries toward her instead.

"Please partake of them. We have a long day ahead of us – if you don't eat well when you can, you'll be hungry again in no time."

With that he seemed to break the spell. It was just as well. If Sirius had lingered another moment Kagome might have given in to his caress.

Her hand shook slightly as she reached out for a fruit.

"You said this is all you ever eat?"

"For the most part, yes."

A sudden idea flashed in her head.

"Listen, why don't you boil some water for me? I'll let you taste something from my time."

Sirius looked perplexed but he obediently rose from the bench and disappeared through the door. A few minutes later he returned with an iron kettle, steam coming out of its spout.

Kagome already had the ramen ready upon the table. She opened the lid and poured the water in it.

Sirius kept looking at the strange item in wary silence. After a while, Kagome looked into the steaming cup, and with a satisfied nod, offered it to him along with a packet of fries.

"Go on, taste them," she said encouragingly.

Sirius delicately sniffed at the cup of ramen. His eyes widened in surprise.

"I can smell so many spices! Even the Emperor of Rome doesn't get to add so many spices to his meal!"

Kagome giggled.

"Well, spices are not so rare in my time. Although I must admit this one is rather bland – Inuyasha doesn't like too much spice in his food."

"Oh!" Sirius put down the cup immediately. "Was this meant for your companion? I'm sorry-"

"Don't be," Kagome said a tad scornfully, "Didn't he say he wasn't hungry?"

"Alright then…but how shall I eat it?"

Kagome considered.

"In our place we eat with chopsticks…but I don't think you'll be able to manage. You can eat it with a ladle…like soup!"

Sirius brightened at the suggestion. Bringing a ladle from the kitchen, he dipped it into the cup and gingerly slurped a strand of noodle. Then he broke into a smile that seemed to light up his entire face.

"Milady! This is the most delicious thing that I've ever tasted!"

Kagome smiled triumphantly.

_'Works every time!'_

"Now try the fries," she said aloud.

Kagome could only stare in surprise as the fries (_and_ ramen) disappeared at an unimaginable pace, contrary to what one would expect from Sirius' refined manners.

* * *

"Isolde!"

Sango cringed inwardly at the cooing voice of her temporary mistress.

"Yes, Your Majesty," she said aloud, trying to look pleasant.

"Guinevere is so, so happy today," the Queen twirled in the middle of the room.

_'Lover coming to visit, eh?'_

"And what makes you so happy, Your Majesty?"

Guinevere stopped in the middle of her dance, her eyes wide with faux surprise.

"_Why_ you ask, Isolde? Can't a woman be happy just by watching the swallows in the sky and the lovely, _lovely_ roses in the garden? The summer sun and the balmy breeze, the shining river and the forest waving to the wind?"

"I suppose so," Sango said skeptically. "Well, what would you have me do, Milady?"

"Prepare a bath for me. Use asses' milk and honey and the best smelling herbs that you can find. Then bring out my Tyrian dyed woollen dress and my most precious jewels. I want to look my best tonight."

"As you wish, Milady."

A girl called Cassia looked up from her embroidery.

"Milady, before you bathe why don't you try the new compound that Lady Atia presented you with? I've heard it is made of barley, vetches soaked in eggs, a stag's horn, narcissus bulbs, gum, Tuscan seeds and honey - the perfect formula to give you a glowing skin."

Sango almost threw up as she listened to the constituents of the compound.

But Guinevere's face lit up immediately. Cassia was famed in the castle for her knowledge of the art of make-up. She had been a cosmetae of Rome, and it was supposed to be a good thing.

"Very good, Cassia! Enide, fetch the face compound," the Queen clapped her hands.

The girl called Enide, who was till now arranging a bunch of roses in a vase, bowed and quickly ran out of the room.

"And after the bath, you much apply crocodile dung all over your face," Cassia advised from her corner.

Sango scrunched up her face in disguise.

"All that just to look pretty?"

Cassia turned her eyes at 'Isolde'.

"And why not?" she replied in an amused tone, "It is no pride to boast of your ugliness. Few of us are born perfect. Make-up is the way to hide our flaws and highlight our beauty."

Sango only grunted in response. Cassia put down her embroidery and stood up.

"Tell me, dear Isolde, do you not look in wonder at a garden of lovely roses or an exquisite marble statue? And do you not turn away in disgust from an open corpse on the wayside on which the maggots are feeding? It is human nature to gravitate toward that which is beautiful and shun that which is ugly."

Sango put her chin up in defiance.

"I find no human being ugly."

Cassia laughed at this, her teeth gleaming like a row of pearls.

"I'm sure your man does. Oh, we women need to cultivate our beauty…only when you cultivate the land does it give forth the crops. A land never cultivated is but full of brambles. You need to cover the bare ceiling with gilded gold; you need to cover the dark clay with marble edifices. Make no mistake, my dear, to kindle fire in the heart of your man a dress is more potent than even the deadly arts of magic."

Sango opened her mouth to protest but suddenly a thought struck her.

Of course! That was the reason Miroku would always go running after the geisha. Their blackened teeth and whitened faces, elaborate kimonos and delicate kanzashi could create enough magic to bind the king and the commoner alike.

Cassia shrewdly observed the change in her expression.

"Yes, there's no harm in looking pretty for the man you love."

Sango frowned.

"I would never debase myself like that to please a man."

"Enough!" Guinevere suddenly shouted, "Another word from your mouth and your head will roll, Isolde!"

With a start Sango realized that she was arguing in the presence of the Queen. Not only that, but she was indirectly insulting her, since she was clearly ready to jump through the hoops for her lover.

_'Oh...I'm only creating trouble for the real Isolde...'_

"I…I apologize, Your Majesty," she quickly bowed to her.

The Queen looked quite angry as she turned her face away.

"Begone this moment, you insolent fool! Make preparations for my bath…and fetch Brangwain for me."

Cassia went to the Queen and patted her arm bracingly.

"There, there, no need to frown, Milady, you'll only get wrinkles. Come, I'll show you the rogue I've made for you from rose petals."

At once Guinevere relaxed, her lips breaking into a smile.

"From rose petals? Really?"

Cassia nodded.

"Like Ovid has said, she who doesn't blush by blood indeed blushes by art."

Sango bowed out of the room.


	21. Complicated Heart

_'What was I thinking…'_

Kagome groaned as she drew her knees up to her chest and rested her chin atop them.

She had panicked as soon as breakfast was over. She had gone too far. This was not the same as mindless banter with Kouga.

Sirius was _not_ Kouga. His eyes and his touch had revealed volumes about the depth of his emotions. She could not let him develop feelings for her.

_'It's just wrong…'_

She had seen emotions in Sirius that she had wanted to see in Inuyasha.

_'What does it matter? I'm not in love with Sirius…'_

However she tried to fight it, the truth was that she was hopelessly in love with Inuyasha. The only reason for her attraction to Sirius was because of all those glimpses of Inuyasha that she could see in him. But it was not enough…she didn't want a substitute. She wanted the real thing.

_'Oh, why can't that moron behave a bit more like Sirius…'_

She had run like the wind all the way from Sirius' house to their tent. She had run till her legs had cramped and she had stitches in her side. She did not know who she was running away from – Sirius or herself - and she did not care. She just needed to get away from it all.

_'What was I thinking…'_

She banged her head against her knee, hurting both parts in the process.

The flap of the tent opened, revealing a blood red haori. Inuyasha walked in, looking concerned.

"Poop-head said you wanted to be left alone…"

Kagome turned her face away.

"I don't want to talk to you."

"What's the matter, Kagome?"

"Nothing! Go away!"

Instead of leaving, as she had expected him to do, Inuyasha came closer, and stood in front of her. Still Kagome kept her face averted from him.

"Kagome, talk to me…_please_."

Kagome looked up. She was surprised to hear the pain and anguish in his voice. His bangs fell darkly upon his face; his eyelashes were quivering with an unknown emotion.

"You're being so cold ever since we fought…it's tearing up my heart. I can't go on like this – I want my old, loving Kagome back."

He knelt down in front of her, like one doing penance, and placed a hand upon her knee. Kagome's heart started dancing faster and faster within her chest. She almost held her breath, her whole body shivering – whether from the cold or his touch, she didn't know.

"What can I do to make things better for you?" he asked in a voice as small as a butterfly's wing.

Something burst within Kagome. The tears that were sealed away in a dark place through all his harsh words gushed and spilled out at his gentleness.

"Go away, Inuyasha!" she repeated as she buried her face within her knees.

Inuyasha embraced Kagome, who was sobbing bitterly. His finger coaxed her face up, as he wiped her tears with his thumbs. He knew that of he, Kagome and Kikyou, she was in the most difficult place. Even so, she had always stuck by his side when she could so easily have run away. When he honestly looked at it, what he was going through did not even compare.

"I've hurt you a lot, haven't I?" his voice was hoarse, broken.

His eyes looked into hers, full of sorrow and regret.

"I'm sorry…it won't happen again."

Kagome pulled away slightly, looking at his face through a haze of tears.

"What are you talking about? You've already chosen Kikyou."

Inuyasha shook his head, his silver mane falling loosely over her arms as he drew her in a tighter embrace. His cheek brushed against hers, causing goose pimples to rise all over her skin. His lips ghosted over her ears as he whispered.

_"I chose you, Kagome…it has always been you."_

Kagome's eyes widened in surprise. She didn't know if she could dare believe what she just heard. Her breath came in slow, halting gasps.

"But-"

"Shh...don't cry."

"No..._it can't be..._"

His lips claimed hers before she could say another word. It was like the swift assault of the storm, without the slightest warning.

Before she could realize, her senses had begun to slip as she was bathed and engulfed in his aura.

The soft urgency of his lips took her by surprise, its dark intensity threatening to drown her in oceans of desire. His fangs grazed lightly over the corners of her lips, making her shiver in delight. She opened her mouth fully to him, their breaths mingling in ecstatic trance.

His wandering hand sought and found the nape of her neck while hers roamed all over his back. She crushed her body against his, holding him tighter than ever, holding on to every fiber of his being, as though she wanted to weld every part of her body with his. Through that one kiss she sought his heart and soul, and he answered with a matching passion, pouring all his love into the act. At that moment time and space had dissolved, the quest had dissolved, the earth had dissolved, reality had dissolved – only the lovers remained, all else was forgotten…

_It was a kiss she would remember till the hour of her death._

The flap of the tent opened, revealing a blood red haori.

Inuyasha walked in.

Roused from her reverie, Kagome smiled bitterly to herself.

Her hands were clutching the empty air, her body was pressed against nothing.

She opened her palm, releasing the air trapped within. Just like that, she released her dream.

_She knew it was all just a dream, sheer wishful thinking..._

What a contrast between her dreams and reality...

He hadn't even bothered to say hello, much less notice her anguish.

She was expecting as much. How could it be something other than a dream? Nothing more could ever come of their relationship as long as Kikyou was there to poison things.

_If she could even call it a relationship, that is…_

Kagome shook her head, trying to banish those crazy, stupid thoughts from her mind.

Inuyasha walked up to her rucksack nonchalantly and started rummaging through it.

"What do you think you are doing?" Kagome asked, her voice spiked with irritation.

"I'm looking for ninja food. You said you'd brought some," he replied, still without looking up. Putting his nose against the bag he sniffed around the edge. "Damn! I can smell it alright. Why don't I see it?"

Kagome took a deep breath. She knew things were going to become unpleasant.

"The reason you can't see it, Inuyasha, is because I already shared it with Sirius."

The hanyou slowly raised his head from the bag.

"You did _what_?"

"You didn't want to have breakfast so I gave it to Sirius," Kagome said defiantly.

Flames of fury swirled within his golden eyes.

"You _bitch_! You _promised_ to give it to me!"

Kagome stood up from where she was sitting and gave Inuyasha a withering look. It pleased her to see the look of panic in his eyes.

_'Yeah, you know what's coming your way, don't you?'_

"You promised…" he said in a smaller voice.

"Well, that was _before_ you made dinner plans with Kikyou!" Kagome thundered, "I've had enough of your bad moods and belligerent attitude, osuwari!"

The beads around Inuyasha's neck glowed as he was pulled down with an unseen force toward the ground.

"Aaaarrrgghhh! What the hell are you doing?!"

"You selfish jerk, you're always making me so mad! Osuwari! Osuwari! Why don't you ever leave me alone? Osuwari! Baka, baka, baka, baka, baka! Osuwari!"

Kagome tossed her head and marched out of the tent, leaving behind an Inuyasha-shaped crater, a cloud of dust coming out of it.

"That felt good…"


	22. Bloodline

Mordred walked in through the door, carrying a heap of scrolls that he dumped in front of Shippou.

"It's time you started studying the nobility," he said tersely before he went and sat on another bench, and unrolled a bunch of scrolls. Shippou craned his neck to see their title said 'Reports from the Kingdom'.

Shippou made a face. He had no interest in learning the history of his own people, let alone that of this strange land. But there was no escape. Previously, 'his' tutor Lucan had also told him that there would be no harm in knowing about the relationships between the various noble houses. The older man had insisted that it was important in order to make progress in the court.

_'Damn you, Inuyasha!'_

He had no reason to damn Inuyasha other than that it made his boring days a bit more bearable.

With a martyr's sigh Shippou unrolled his own scrolls and began to scan through them. But the familial relationships were confusing and there was no end to the complexities. Soon, his eyes began to swirl.

The boy sitting next to him looked from the complex diagrams on the scrolls to Shippou's miserable face.

_"Psst!"_ he whispered, "Sir Mordred is a specialist in nobles. Why don't you ask him to explain those to you?"

_'Aha!'_

Shippou flashed a charming smile at Mordred – a smile he usually reserved for Kagome when he wanted more pockies or for Inuyasha just after making a huge mess.

"Couldn't you help a poor boy in a bit of a pinch, Sir?"

At his appeal Mordred looked up from his scrolls but did not immediately dismiss Shippou. Rather, he seemed to consider the boy's request.

"And if I do, what shall you do in return? Shall you leave in an hour's time to keep an eye on the Queen's castle and let me know the minute a man enters it?"

Unusually, Mordred had himself suggested a bargaining chip.

Shippou nodded enthusiastically, rejoicing within. He was beginning to miss his friends. Maybe Kagome would come over to the Queen's castle in the afternoon. Miroku said that was their arrangement.

The deal settled, Mordred leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes.

"Very well, then. Our history properly starts with King Constantine, Father of Uther Pendragon, Grandfather of the current King."

He pressed the tips of his fingers together and seemed lost in contemplation. The boy next to Shippou began to scribble furiously in his parchment.

"After the Romans left Britain there were many clans that were sparring for supremacy," Mordred continued, "There was a bloody civil war that was fought for nearly half a century, until King Constantine cleansed the land and took command of the tribes. You can still see men like Sir Bors and Sir Galahad and Sir Percivale – all descended from one noble clan or another. Unlike me, each of them is every inch a scion of a noble house – the last surviving aristocrats."

"The _last_ aristocrats? What happened to other people of their clans?" Shippou asked, leaning forward.

"They were all executed by the King's orders."

Shippou was speechless at this unexpected reply.

"Executed…for what reason?"

"Reason is not important. The important thing is, it was the King's order. When the King decides to destroy someone, the execution is usually carried out. At that time, the amount of destroyed nobles was vast."

"Oh…"

"After King Constantine died his advisor Vortigern made his eldest son Constans the King, and began to rule from the shadows. He banished the younger brothers Aurelius and Uther from the kingdom and it was only a matter of days before Constans himself was murdered. The kingmaker became the king. But Vortigern's rule was short-lived. The brothers returned as adults after fifteen years and killed Vortigern in battle. Aurelius took the throne, being the elder of the two, but Uther sent an assassin to poison him, while he himself rode to battle the Saxons. Nothing stood now between Uther Pendragon and his kingship over Britain - neither kinsmen nor nobles. His word became the law of the land. He took a fancy to the Duke of Cornwall's wife and with the aid of Merlin bedded her the same night as he killed the Duke. And King Arthur was born out of that 'holy union', followed by my mother, the sweet Morgause."

Shippou took a moment to absorb the information. Brother killing brother, King killing his vassal and stealing his wife – compared to this lot Naraku sounded almost like an angel of mercy.

"Sir Mordred is a noble as well, though?" he had blurted out before he could check himself.

Suddenly, there was a ringing silence inside the room.

The subject of Mordred's origins was a forbidden topic even among the nobility.

The boy next to Shippou shook his head.

_'Really, Safir does not know a thing!'_

Mordred looked into Shippou's face with keen, dark eyes. He seemed to be deeply amused, almost to the point of being interested.

"It's been a long time since I was asked that directly."

"Huh?"

"Certainly, King Lot's house is a noble one, but I was adopted, so I can't be said to be a pure noble."

Mordred's tone was gentle as ever, but Shippou felt a chilly sensation, as if icy water were being poured over him. He had often seen Sesshoumaru create that effect upon…well, upon almost everyone except Inuyasha. Somewhere in his head, warning bells started ringing, cautioning him not to go any further.

Shippou swallowed and his throat went up and down. Mordred stared at it with a gaze like a beast observing its prey.

"I-is Lady Morgan a sister of the King?" the kitsune asked in a tiny voice.

Mordred's face relaxed into a smile, and Shippou felt as if he had passed a test.

_'Ooh, I feel like I escaped the jaws of a lion.'_

He gave an involuntary shudder.

"Half-sister," Mordred replied evenly, "She is the daughter of Igraine – the King's mother and her first husband, the Duke. Does that satisfy your curiosity?"

Shippou nodded, burying his face in the scrolls as Mordred continued to look at him with an inscrutable expression.

* * *

It was with great difficulty that Sirius could coax any information out of Inuyasha. After much cajoling, sweet words and a promise to make Kagome apologize for her insensitive behavior, the hanyou had curbed his hostility enough to relate what had passed between him and Miroku at Bedivere's mansion.

That wasted precious moments and so it was past noontide when Kagome was burdened with the usual display of trinkets and sent to visit the Queen.

On her way into the castle, she thought she saw a young boy of about ten smiling and waving at her. When she looked again, however, he was gone. Kagome blinked.

_'Am I on weeds or something? Oh well…'_

Like the previous time, the castle guards asked her to wait in a dark corridor, as they sent word about the arrival of the gypsy. As Kagome's eyes adjusted to the dark, she took a look around her. It was a long and narrow passage leading to an arched wooden door. Torches were burning at intervals along the bare stone walls, even in the middle of the day. A moist, unpleasant smell coming from the inner chambers invaded her nostrils, almost making her eyes water.

_'Do I smell dung?'_

Kagome wondered what could possibly have been going on inside the castle to give off that amount of stench. At length, the wooden door opened, and she saw Sango approaching her, looking like she was going to be sick.

"Her majesty is taking her bath. She does not have time to look at trinkets," the taijiya informed with a surly face as she reached Kagome.

"Oh, that's too bad…" Kagome looked at the palace guard. "But we're going away tomorrow and we haven't sold a thing. If the young lady will kindly take a look…"

"Very well," Sango replied, also stealing a glance at the guard, "Please step into this recess and I'll see if there's anything to buy."

The guards relaxed and looked away from the duo.

Very soon the two friends were tucked away into the said recess.

"Alright, I have news. Lancelot is definitely coming to visit the Queen today and Guinevere knows it. I think Brangwain is the informant from this side," Sango whispered into Kagome's ear.

Kagome nodded in agreement.

"Yes, we know that too," she whispered back, "Miroku-sama…or rather Bedivere, is the informant on the other side. Brangwain went to his residence to collect the information about the tryst earlier today."

Sango's eyes widened in panic.

"How did houshi-sama know what to tell her?"

"He didn't, at first, but Shippou-chan had luckily overheard Mordred's spy telling it to Mordred and he could relay the information to Miroku-sama in time."

"Oh, thank God," Sango closed her eyes in prayer, "So, when is this Lancelot coming to visit Guinevere?"

At Kagome's signal, she fell silent.

Two of Guinevere's handmaidens were approaching them. Sango picked up a random amulet, turning it over in her hand.

"What does this one do?"

"It will make the person of your dreams fall in love with you."

Sango raised an eyebrow. Kagome tried to cover her blush.

_'Really, is that all I'm thinking these days?'_

The girls passed the duo without so much as a glance. Kagome leaned forward and whispered into Sango's ears.

"He's coming today when the evening star shines at its brightest."

"That's at dusk," Sango said thoughtfully before she gave a gasp, "But how to stop the lovers from meeting? The only way to stop the tryst now is to physically accost either Lancelot or the Queen. What should we do?"

Kagome bit her lower lip.

"What were we supposed to do in the first place? I'm all jumbled up in my head."

Sango looked at her friend in concern.

"What happened, Kagome-chan? You are looking so pale..."

At that, Kagome told Sango all about her encounter with Sirius, and later, with Inuyasha, taking care to omit her romantic musings in between.


	23. Heartbreak

Sango listened with rapt attention to every word that Kagome said. When she had finished, the taijiya thoughtfully shook her head.

"Well," Kagome demanded, "Why don't you say something?"

For a long time Sango sat in silence, looking at a spot on the floor. Then she lifted her head and spoke very slowly, as though she was choosing her words carefully.

"Kagome-chan, it is hardly my place to counsel you, but as your friend I'll say what's on my mind. I think you are playing with fire."

Kagome frowned.

"What do you mean? I'm not leading Sirius on, if that's what you are insinuating."

"I did not say you were," Sango said hastily, "But the fact remains that Inuyasha is very possessive about you. Clearly he dislikes Sirius, and your hanging out with him will only complicate things further between you and Inuyasha."

Kagome snorted.

"Well I can't help it if Inuyasha insists on being an immature jerk."

"I agree," Sango nodded, "Inuyasha _is_ immature and he often gets on my nerves too. But I think you're forgetting that there might be a reason for it. He didn't exactly have a normal childhood – he's had to raise himself all by his own, he's had to fight for survival, he'd been treated like an outcaste before Kikyou befriended him, he doesn't know our social customs and niceties – all these make Inuyasha the person he is today. And you can't change that, at least not overnight. So either learn to live with it…or learn to live without him."

Kagome scowled.

"Sango-chan is awfully mean today."

"Sorry if I sound that way," Sango said in a softer tone, "But really, expecting Inuyasha to behave like a normal, well-adjusted person is like expecting snow in the month of Satsuki. I'm not saying it can't be done, but it might take years of patient counselling before you'll see even the slightest change."

Kagome twirled a strand of hair in her finger.

"And it doesn't help things any that he's already chosen Kikyou."

Sango frowned.

"When did _that_ happen?"

Kagome threw her hands out in exasperation.

"Well, isn't it _obvious_? Can't you, like, _tell_ it from the way he's acting?"

"To be honest I can tell no such thing, Kagome-chan," Sango said matter-of-factly, "From what I see Kikyou is out there on her own while Inuyasha continues to stick with us. So until he comes up to you and _says_ he's chosen Kikyou over you I'm not going to assume such a thing. I doubt if he's even _capable_ of choosing either you or Kikyou unless circumstances force one of you out of his life."

Kagome threw a pitying glance at Sango.

_'Poor Sango-chan…doesn't have an iota of women's intuition…'_

She heaved a sigh.

"If Inuyasha would only behave a bit more like Sirius…"

Sango clucked in annoyance.

"I think you need to sort out your own feelings first instead of analyzing Inuyasha's actions. You said you were attracted to Sirius because he reminded you of Inuyasha and now you want Inuyasha to become more like Sirius…it just sounds like you are terribly confused, Kagome-chan."

"What's the confusion?" Kagome asked, "All I'm saying is, I love _Inuyasha_, but I want him to behave like _Sirius_…"

The sentence trailed off as Kagome suddenly realized what she was trying to say.

It was as if she was hit by a meteor.

"Is it possible that I'm in love with _both of them_?"

"Now that's just nonsense," Sango shook her head, "You only met Sirius _yesterday_."

Kagome clutched her head in her hands.

"Urgh! I think I'll go crazy! Anyway, I'll figure out what to do with my heart later. The more pressing question is what to do with the tryst?"

Sango considered.

"I think we have all the information we're ever going to get here. Time to lay down our cards before Morgan le Fay and let her take the call."

Kagome nodded in approval.

"That's exactly what I was thinking."

* * *

Kagome rose after leaving a couple of charm bracelets and amulets with Sango. After all, it would look quite suspicious if they spent all that time talking in the recess and still didn't do any business.

Sango stood watching her friend retreat, before she sighed and turned around to get on with _her_ business.

Two girls were coming from behind her. One was Brangwain and the other was Cassia the Cosmetae. A few scraps of conversation floated into Sango's ears.

"…when I went there this morning, he was so loving, was my Bedivere," Brangwain was saying, or rather squealing in delight, "He's never been so loving before, I swear to you!"

"Oh, was he? Tell me all about it…" Cassia's voice floated behind Sango.

"I think it was the compound you suggested last night – the one with deer marrow in it…he said he had never seen a prettier girl than me!"

"Did he, now?"

"Yes! And then he pulled my hand and made me sit on his lap…I was so embarrassed I turned my face away…red as a beetroot I had turned, and he…oh, I can't tell you this!"

Cassia entreated her friend to divulge her big secret.

"Well…" Brangwain was smiling ear to ear as the duo passed by Sango, _"He asked me if I would bear his child!"_

Cassia put her hands to her mouth.

"Oh no, he _didn't_!"

Brangwain nodded enthusiastically.

_"He did!"_

"You lucky girl! And what did you say?"

"I pushed him away of course, I was so embarrassed…I said "You naughty lad, don't you think of all that before you make me an honest woman!" And he looked so disappointed…he wanted to hug me and I almost ran away without…" Brangwain took a cautious look around, "Without getting the thing I had gone to fetch…"

The girls disappeared through the door, arm in arm.

Sango felt as though her innards had turned to lead. She knew only too well that the man in question wasn't Bedivere…

_'Houshi-sama…'_

Her mouth tasted like ash and mud. Her heart was hammering painfully in her chest as beads of sweat formed on her forehead.

_'Why did you do it?'_

She tried to take a step forward, but her vision was blurry and her ears were ringing loudly. She extended her hand to grab something for support. It only closed around empty air.

At that moment Sango's legs gave way beneath her and she dropped to the ground.

_'Why houshi-sama?'_

She wanted to yell and rant. She wanted to bend over and sob till the wee hours of the morning.

_'Such betrayal…'_

Technically it was not a betrayal. He was neither her fiancé nor her lover.

Still…he was her _friend_…and they had made a promise to each other…

_To marry each other one day, when their struggle was over…_

Did that promise mean nothing? Or had Miroku already given up the struggle as hopeless?

A guard was coming toward her, looking concerned. With a supreme effort Sango controlled herself.

"Are you alright, Milady?"

Sango gave a wan smile.

"I'm fine…"

She rose from the dust and brushed her clothes.

She wasn't 'Sango' here, she was 'Isolde'. Isolde, who had never felt the sharp teeth of betrayal cutting into her flesh...

_'I have to be fine.'_

The charade had to be carried on till the bitter end.

Slowly, Sango made her way into the inner chambers.

The quest had lost all meaning for her.


	24. The Seer

Inuyasha was in a quandary.

His initial annoyance had abated, at least somewhat, but he was still mad at Kagome for her string of osuwaris. On the other hand, Kagome looked like _she_ was in the right and was probably expecting an apology from him.

_'That too after all that silliness over poop-head.'_

He muttered under his breath, cursing all wenches and their unreasonable attitude.

Heaving a sigh he decided to take a stroll in the meadow. Kagome was with Sango and would be some time before she came back. He needed to clear his head. Besides, all those sit commands had cramped his legs.

Hands tucked within the sleeves of his haori, he took a few ambling steps. There were three gypsy tents nearby, arranged in a rough triangle; in the middle of the triangle the grass was charred. It looked like they had shared the fire last night. A couple of strange looking wenches were coming from the direction of the river. The brats were playing under a tree.

Looking at the brats reminded him of Shippou. He wondered what the little pest was doing. As for the pervert monk, he'd surely be in trouble after his shenanigans with that wench what's-her-name. Sango would be mighty pissed about it, make no mistake. Not that he would tell her, but wenches have a sort of sixth sense for ferreting these things out. The number of time Kagome had caught him sneaking around with Kikyou…

Absorbed as he was in his musings, he was startled to hear a whisper at his elbow.

"Welcome, Inuyasha, son of the Dog General."

Inuyasha almost yelped in surprise. He whipped around to see a short woman with a mop of curly, brown hair and a plump, dimpled face. She was apparently dressed in a brown patchwork rag. Her bracelets jangled as she pushed her hair back from her eyes and blinked innocently up at him.

He looked at her suspiciously.

"How did you know about me?"

_'I thought we were in disguise…'_

The woman smiled widely and Inuyasha noticed that many of her teeth were blackened.

"I know all about you. Now step inside my tent and I'll read your fortune for you."

Inuyasha snorted.

"I don't want to know about my fortune, than you very much."

He took a step away but the woman pulled the sleeve of his haori.

"Your mind is disturbed. There are two women in your life – one is your biggest strength and the other your greatest weakness. You are unable to choose between the two."

This time Inuyasha turned around very slowly.

"Dammit, woman! How _do_ you know all this?"

_'Could it be Shippou in disguise?'_

He cast a surreptitious look at her backside to see if there was a bushy tail hanging out of it. But there was none. The woman cackled in delight.

"So then, into my tent! Chop-chop."

Intrigued, Inuyasha followed her to her tent. It was midnight blue, with the sun, the moon and the planets sewn in golden thread – giving it the illusion of the sky. Inside, it was warm to the point of being stuffy. It was full of strange artefacts, many of which Inuyasha couldn't recognize. There were statues in the shapes of cats and foxes carved on green stone, there were silver crosses with loops on top of them, there was a tiny sculpture of something with the head of a man and the body of a lion. The inner walls of the tent were black and painted with eyes, owls, feathers and other strange images.

There was a golden pot in the corner from which a sweet mist was emanating. The silver bells of a dream catcher tinkled in a strange rhythm, as though chanting a sacred hymn. It caused him to feel serene, almost drowsy.

The woman went and sat upon a scarlet cushion on the floor. She indicated him to sit on the cushion opposite to her. Then she pulled a shallow silver basin in between them.

"The Elements have chosen the one who holds the key to your future. Look at her face and be free of your dilemma. Let the water of Iteru show you the way."

So saying she poured water from a jug into the basin. When it was filled to the brim and the ripples on the surface had died down, she threw a handful of sand into it.

"Look into the water," she commanded.

Inuyasha peered into the basin, expecting to see something miraculous. To his surprise, his own face blinked up at him.

The bottom of the basin gave out a tiny bubble.

"Stupid old hag!"

He was on the verge of pulling away when his image dissolved into a rainbow. Inuyasha blinked again.

The water was multicoloured now, swirling with myriad different hues, from gold to deep red, from cobalt to emerald. The colours melted into each other, only to separate and form a whole new tinge – amethyst purple, jade green, sunset orange…and then it all went black.

It was the colour of a dark night. The wind was howling over the sand, the sound of a river was coming from somewhere. A girl was running in the distance. Her white robes gleamed in the dark; her face was hidden by a veil.

"Tais!"

A boy shouted as he ran out to meet her. He wore a sort of loincloth around his waste. The rest of him was naked to his feet. His broad, muscular back glistened with sweat.

As they fell into each other's arms, trembling, the girl threw off her veil, revealing a pair of tender, blue eyes. Her hennaed hair blew about her face.

"Tais, run away with me!" the boy urged, "I have the boat ready…we can sail away from this kingdom-"

The girl shook her head.

"And what then? Do you think Ramses will spare my family? It's useless, Ahmose, I cannot run away from my destiny."

"B-but," the boy pleaded, "You can't live for the sake of others anymore, you've done it all your life…we belong _together_, senet*!"

The girl shook her head again.

"Don't call me that…anymore."

Her voice was a whisper that melted into the winds of the night.

"I'm not destined to be with you Ahmose, I just came to say goodbye."

"Senet…"

"Senebty…senebty**…"

Inuyasha looked up in annoyance.

"I thought you were going to reveal my fortune or something. Who are these people and why are you showing me these cheap tricks?"

Smiling enigmatically, the seer indicated to him to be quiet.

"Do not disturb the flow of the mighty Iteru," she said in a hushed voice.

"Keh!"

Frowning, Inuyasha looked back down at the basin.

The previous scene dissolved into a succession of scenes, none of which made any sense to Inuyasha. He saw a sculptor carving a huge marble slab to the likeness of a Goddess wringing her hair; he saw a king dressed in blue, sitting on his throne and playing a golden harp; he saw a warrior riding a black stallion through the desert; he saw...

He couldn't believe his eyes at what he saw next…

_Then realization hit him with the force of a thousand thunderbolts._

In a flash he understood what he was seeing in front of his eyes. The pieces of the puzzle started to fit. He began to see the answer to a lot of questions that were baffling him. He gripped the sides of the basin so hard his knuckles were white.

Within the water, the images were changing rapidly. There was a castle on fire. A man was standing in front of it. His eyes were pure gold; his silver hair was tied in a horsetail and he had markings on his face like Sesshoumaru.

"Inuyasha…the child shall be named Inuyasha," he spoke in a sombre voice.

The scene changed rapidly. His mother was holding him, his first meeting with Kikyou, then with Kagome, the events of their journey…and yet it did not stop.

Naraku was dead now, and the well had disappeared. Inuyasha made a strange move with his sword that seemed to open up the very pits of hell.

_'Wow, how the hell did I do that?'_

Then he jumped into the hell.

_'Whoa, what am I doing?!'_

The moving kaleidoscope finally came to a stop. There was only one face reflected in the basin now.

_His future…_

Inuyasha smiled blithely. It was just the answer he was hoping for.

"That was awesome, babaa!" he shouted as he looked up from the basin.

The woman had disappeared utterly; so had the tent and its mysterious artefacts.

Inuyasha was sitting alone on the grass, a little way away from the three tents.

Instead of silver bells, the bleating of sheep came to his ears, mingled with the sound of the children playing.

Blinking a few times he looked down at the basin again.

Only, now it had turned into a puddle of water.

* * *

* Senet: Ancient Egyptian literally meaning 'sister' but spoken in those times as a term of endearment, like 'darling'.

** Senebty: Farewell


	25. A successful Conclusion

Kagome came out of the castle with a grave face. Sirius immediately moved to her side.

"What is wrong, Milady?"

"Not here," she whispered, "Let's go to your place. It'll be the quickest."

Without a word Sirius started walking down the cobbled streets. Kagome glanced back once. Yes, the strange boy was there by the side of the castle gate, only now he winked at her. Kagome blinked.

_'What the…'_

Suddenly his appearance melted away, revealing none other than Shippou!

Kagome smiled warmly at the kitsune, who returned in kind before he motioned her to follow Sirius. Kagome looked back to see that her companion had almost reached the end of the block. She had to run to catch up with him. In a short while they threaded through numerous bylanes and reached the familiar stone house. Anna was waiting at the door. Her face fell on seeing Kagome.

"I didn't know you were bringing company, Sir, I was hoping to get the afternoon off," she started a voluble account of how her sister had suddenly taken ill and needed her immediate attentions.

Sirius stemmed her flow of words and curtly allowed her to leave. Anna immediately ran out of the house and disappeared round the bend.

Kagome stepped into the house with Sirius. Her mind briefly dwelled on the fact that she was alone in a house with him, but presently it drifted to other more important matters.

This time Sirius took her to the inner part of the house, to a room with a big mirror on a wall and something that looked like an irori* in the middle. As with Morgan's room, this room too had a few shelves that contained vials of different colours filled with powder and liquids.

"I'm sorry Inuyasha and Miroku-sama disrupted your plan," Kagome said apologetically as Sirius helped unburden her, and then motioned her to sit on the floor.

"Don't be harsh on your companions, Milady. At last we have the information we were looking for. Now we just need to contact Lady Morgan and I'm sure she will find a way."

Kagome looked at Sirius.

"How are we going to do that? Puss said the only way to reach her castle was over the bridge of stars."

"Actually," Sirius spoke as he picked a vial from the shelf, "There is another."

He took a handful of powder and threw it into the irori, before he joined her on the floor. Suddenly the room became as dark as a rainy afternoon and the flames sparkled and danced vividly, their tongues leaping at the ceiling. White fumes arose from the flames and got into Kagome's eyes till they watered and burned. Sirius threw out his arm protectively, pushing her away from the blaze.

The twisting flames shaped and reshaped themselves until they took the form of an oval mirror. A face materialized in the middle of it. Morgan le Fay looked through the flames at Sirius and Kagome.

"Why are you contacting me in this manner, Sirius?" she blinked haughtily.

"There is a matter of great urgency, Milady," Sirius proceeded to explain the situation with Lancelot and the Queen.

Morgan listened to every word with careful attention. When he finished his report, her face relaxed into an approving smile.

"I must say your rabble has exceeded my expectations, Sirius. Well done. I shall release Safir from my castle immediately – there is no need for the fox to remain with Mordred any longer. The monk and the slayer have one last task each before they are released from their duties later tonight. Then tomorrow you may ask your minion to guide your friends to my castle for their payments."

Sirius bowed his head.

"As you wish, Milady."

Morgan's face disappeared from the flame-mirror. The fire died down gradually. Sunlight laced its way back into the room, causing Kagome to squint her eyes.

A full minute passed before anyone spoke. Then Sirius cleared his throat.

"A successful conclusion to our quest. We must rejoice."

A shallow furrow appeared between Kagome's brows.

"Just wait a second," she said as her frown deepened, "Aren't we forgetting something?"

Sirius looked at her in mild surprise.

"Forgetting? What, Milady?"

Kagome twirled a strand of her hair in a finger. It was a habit of hers to do so when she was thinking deeply.

"Let me piece together the events of this quest. Morgan had news that Mordred was planning to murder King Arthur. She sent you to ancient Greece to bring Helen of Troy, so that Mordred will be busy falling in love with her and put his murderous thoughts out of his mind."

Sirius nodded.

"That is so."

"Your route got compromised, presumably because of my time travel and you ended up in Japan. Then you decided to enlist us for combating Mordred."

"I did not have a definite plan but yes, I thought something along those lines," Sirius agreed, "But then you revealed through your clairvoyance that rather than killing the King, Mordred's plan is to expose the affair between Lancelot and Guinevere and banish Lancelot from the kingdom. So we changed our plan and decided to prevent the fatal tryst from taking place."

"Morgan placed Sango-chan, Miroku-sama and Shippou-chan in the three quarters and between them they managed to ferret out the required information."

"Which we now have conveyed to Lady Morgan and thus our quest is at an end. What puzzles you, Milady?"

"The Dark Lady, for starters," Kagome replied, "You said she is the one controlling Mordred. Why send us on this dicey quest where our success was more a product of accident than any real planning, instead of trying to curb this so-called Dark Lady? Why doesn't anybody invade her tower or attack her? We can lend our powers in the battle…why do you allow those ferocious birds to live on? Why did Zellandine's castle have those cauldrons and bones of children? What did Morgause mean the other day when she asked me if it was my poor child?"

Sirius looked incredulous.

"She said _that_?"

Kagome nodded.

Sirius opened and closed his mouth several times before replying.

"I agree that these things seem quite mysterious but the important thing is, Lady Morgan has been _informed_ about these and she _said_ she'll look into them. The Dark Lady clearly has magical powers and only Lady Morgan is strong enough to engage with her. That's why she wants us not to meddle into these things. I understand you being curious about the goings on, Milady, but the fact is these have nothing to do with our quest."

"All the same," Kagome rose from the floor as she spoke, "It seems to me like we were being sent on a wild goose chase while the real events are taking place somewhere else. Like we are on the stage and the ropes are being manipulated from behind. Something doesn't quite add up, there was _something_ somebody said that didn't really fit…but I can't remember that now."

Sirius rose as well.

"You mean somebody has lied to you?"

Kagome shook her head unsurely.

"That's the strangest thing of all…_I think someone spoke the truth…"_

* * *

_*Irori: A traditional Japanese style sunken hearth_


	26. His And Her Circumstances

"Lady Morgan will look into the problem of the Black Lady," Sirius reassured Kagome.

But Kagome was far from reassured. Somehow, Sirius' blind reliance on Morgan le Fay made her feel ill at ease. Even though she had met him only a couple of days ago, but somewhere in her mind, at a place divorced from reason, she felt a stab of jealousy every time Sirius mentioned the name 'Morgan'.

"_Of course,_ Lady Morgan will look into it so everything will be peachy perfect."

Her latent sarcasm didn't go unnoticed. Sirius stared at her.

"Lady Morgan is a very intelligent and erudite woman, Milady. Her knowledge and education are unparalleled in these ignorant times, and her loyalty to the King knows no bound. In fact…"

The rest of the speech was a blur to Kagome. By then she had mastered the art of zoning out when the men in her life (Inuyasha) started extolling the many imaginary virtues of their favourite women (Kikyou). Kagome nodded sympathetically while she groaned inwardly.

_'What's with guys putting undeserving women upon pedestals all the time…'_

"That's good to know," she said aloud.

_'Can we please change the topic?'_

As if he could read her mind, Sirius suddenly broke into a smile that made Kagome's heart flutter with a flurry of emotions.

"Alright, enough about this!" he exclaimed, "Let's do something fun! In fact, I was so caught up in our quest I haven't even offered to show you around Camelot yet!"

"I didn't know there were places to see around here," Kagome said.

"Of course there are, there is the forest of the Knights Who Say Ni, the cave where the Rabbit of Caerbannog was defeated by our brave knights and the Gorge of Eternal Peril, whose keeper the King had outwitted by cleverly answering a question regarding swallows."

"Really? Are you sure you are not making these up?" Kagome asked skeptically.

"Of course not," Sirius looked slightly affronted, "Let me bring my steed while you press your amulet and call your half-demon friend."

Kagome waved her hand airily.

"Oh don't mind _him_, let's go by ourselves."

Sirius frowned.

"Wouldn't it be rude to leave him behind?"

Kagome shook her head. She was mad at Inuyasha for his behaviour since the last couple of days. Moreover, he had almost ruined their quest by taking too much time to reveal vital information. But that was not the reason she refused to take him for sight seeing around Camelot.

The thing was, Inuyasha had absolutely no interest in either scenery or history.

"He's probably taking a nap anyway," she decided.

* * *

As a matter of fact, the hanyou was engaged in a completely different occupation at that time.

Ever since his 'encounter' with the seer (he still wasn't sure if it had actually happened or he had dreamt the entire thing) his mood had miraculously recovered.

Now all he could think of was the way Kagome had looked at him inside the tent, the pain in her eyes and her sad expression and so on.

_'I've hurt her really bad this time,'_ he thought as his ears plastered themselves to his head.

He knew he needed to make amends, and make them quick. Using his exceptional nose he decided his course, and walked westward till he found himself in a field of wildflowers. The scent grew too strong for him there and he sneezed, causing a startled fawn to bounce off toward the forest.

Wiping his nose in the sleeve of his haori, he began to pick flowers. He used to pick flowers for his mother a long time ago. Flowers made the humans happy. His mother would always accept his bouquet with a smile and make sweets for him afterwards.

Inuyasha smiled to himself.

He loved it when Kagome smiled. That was the only reason he would lie about his meetings with Kikyou. He could sense Kagome tensing and being upset any time he mentioned Kikyou's name. She would understand why he needed to protect her so she wouldn't stop him or anything but…

_'Heck, she's the one who suffers the most in all this…'_

At times he wished Kikyou had never been resurrected. He would still have avenged her death and punished Naraku, and always cherished her memory.

But as long as he believed that Kikyou had entered nirvana and was at peace, he could also move on in life.

_With Kagome._

At any rate, that was how it should have been. But the demon Urasue upset the balance of nature by pulling Kikyou's soul back into this world. As long as Kikyou was in this world and alone, no matter if she was a living woman or a walking corpse, he could not bind himself to another woman. His guilt wouldn't allow him to do that.

_No matter how much he longed for freedom, he would always be bound to Kikyou._

But today wasn't about Kikyou. It was all about Kagome.

The smile that had faltered returned to its place.

After picking up the most vivacious flowers he could find, Inuyasha walked back to the tent. Rummaging through Kagome's rucksack he found some string and tied the flowers together.

He considered keeping the bouquet on the rucksack.

_'Keh, she won't know it's from me!'_

He considered keeping the bouquet at the entrance, next to his footprints.

_'Keh, the flowers will get all muddy!'_

Finally he decided to personally hand them over to her. Slipping the bouquet inside his sleeve, he sat cross-legged on the grass outside the tent.

_Oh, he was going to make Kagome so happy!_

* * *

Sango felt far from happy as she leaned out of the castle window. The breeze cooled her fevered brow but it did nothing to improve her mood.

Sighing, she closed her eyes.

Guinevere was getting dressed for her tryst. Her handmaidens were cheering her on with sweet, sometimes vulgar comments. Sango's lips twisted in an ironic smile.

How long would the Queen's happiness last? If Morgan le Fay's plan was successful she and Lancelot wouldn't even meet tonight. Suddenly she felt bad for the vain, arrogant woman she had secretly grown to love to hate.

Her husband had enjoyed and discarded her much like Naraku discarded his so-called offspring, once they serve their purpose. Except that Guinevere hadn't been able to conceive a child, so she had failed in her purpose as well.

But she could not discard her husband. She had to remain behind in her golden cage and watch her husband dallying around with everything in a kimono while she was royally ignored…Sango thought she could understand the feeling.

And now that she had found love in the arms of another man, that love had become a potential landmine. Mordred was going to use the affair in order to destabilize the kingdom. Morgan was going to cut off all communication between the lovers in order to protect her King. And what did the King think about the situation?

In this game of Go, in the schemes and counter-schemes of power politics, a woman's sentiment could find no place. The affairs of the men were more important.

* * *

Being a man, Miroku was at a distinct disadvantage.

From a very young age, the monk's specialty had been the ladies. To him, getting a woman to meet him alone in the garden, or to dance with him or share a drink with him were as easy as a piece of cake.

Getting them to agree to bear his child posed something of a challenge but even that was usually side-stepped by judiciously mentioning his family's curse.

But to persuade a _man_ to drink with him…

Yet that was exactly what Morgan le Fay had suggested. She had appeared behind him noiselessly just as he was getting ready for an afternoon siesta. Only the hint of cinnamon and roses from her body betrayed her presence to him.

As he turned around she came close, very close to him, her breasts pressing lightly against his chest. She had made a motion as though to embrace him – brushing her soft, porcelain cheek against his, her nails digging into his arms, her voice ghosting over his ears.

"Drop this powder in Lancelot's drink before he goes out to meet the Queen. The drug will cause him to lose all sense of direction. Stay with him and deliberately lead him away from the Queen's castle until the slayer signals to you through your amulet."

Her dark eyes were mere inches away from him, the invitation swimming in them almost too strong to resist. Miroku's throat went up and down as he swallowed, the hair on his body rising with the frission of delight she sent down his spine.

"Should you succeed," she drawled sensuously, her tongue visible through her cherry lips, "I shall allow you to come and visit my chamber tonight."

Her long, silky hair fell wantonly over his arms, her pure white breasts heaving with every breath. Her long finger traced the bottom of his jaw as she pushed his chin up and closed his slightly gaping mouth.

Then she had turned around and left without another word. Miroku could only stare in shock, his mind in a buzz.

_Such sauciness from a woman…_

For the first time, the predator had become the prey.

Even now Miroku shivered with delight as he thought about the encounter.

He also knew that he had no choice but to succeed in keeping Lancelot away from the Queen. The prize that had been promised was too tempting to pass.

Morgan had got him where she wanted him, alright.

Shaking his head ruefully, he put the sachet containing the powder inside his sleeve. Then he made his way out of Bedivere's house.


End file.
